By KYIV. Jan 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) filed a lawsuit against the owner of the Finance and Credit bank (Kyiv) Kostiantyn Zhevaho with the Kyiv Economic Court on Wednesday regarding compensation for losses of the financial institution and its creditors in the amount of UAH 46 billion, the press service of DGF reported on Wednesday.
As noted in the report, the next step to protect the bank’s creditors became possible, among other things, thanks to the documents and evidence collected during the preparation and consideration of the case under the claim of the DGF against the owner of the said bank by the High Court of Justice.
"Last summer, we received final conclusions from London lawyers and began to prepare for the process in Ukraine. We have a powerful evidence base – more than 7,000 originals and copies of documents: letters, descriptions of schemes and materials of credit cases with a total volume of about 300,000 pages," Deputy Managing Director of the Fund Viktor Novikov said.
According to the Fund, the main reason for the insolvency of Finance and Credit Bank and the lack of funds for full settlement with creditors was significant losses from the scheme withdrawal of funds by lending to companies associated with the owner of the financial institution, since they did not return the funds received and mostly turned out to be insolvent.
Due to the systematic lending to borrowers associated with Zhevaho and the transfer of funds to nonresident companies belonging to him under fictitious contracts, more than $223.1 million and EUR 18.4 million were withdrawn from the bank.
On December 17, 2015, the National Bank of Ukraine, at the suggestion of the DGF, adopted Resolution No. 898 on the revocation of the banking license and liquidation of PJSC Bank Finance and Credit, the beneficiary of which was MP of the Verkhovna Rada of the VIII convocation and Executive Director of the mining company Ferrexpo Zhevaho.
In March 2016, the bank’s liquidator filed a complaint about a crime due to debiting correspondent accounts at Meinl Bank AG and Bank Frick & Co AG of the bank’s funds for $113 million, allegedly for non-return to Nasterno Commercial Ltd. loans to these banks secured on correspondent accounts of PJSC Bank Finance and Credit.
Based on this episode, in September 2019, the State Bureau of Investigations declared suspicion on the former owner of the bank, and in July 2021 put him on the international wanted list. In December 2022, Zhevaho was detained at the ski resort of Courchevel (France).
