As part of the investigation of criminal proceedings, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General, exposed officials of a private banking institution in the legalization (laundering) of property.
It has been established that one of the Russian oligarchs, together with other Russian businessmen, using fictitious companies controlled by Cypriot companies and their banking institution, which is one of the ten largest financial institutions in the country, organized fictitious lawyers before and during the armed aggression against and financial operations aimed at legalizing (laundering) the assets of these companies totaling more than UAH 1 billion and their subsequent withdrawal from the banking system in Ukraine.
The accomplices initiated the commission of these criminal acts to avoid possible negative consequences in the form of sanctions and/or enforcement of property rights provided by the Law of Ukraine "On Basic Principles of Forcible Seizure of Property of the Russian Federation and Its Residents".
The joint efforts of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine ensured the seizure of assets of Cypriot companies totaling more than 469 million hryvnias, which are in the accounts of a banking institution whose beneficial owners are a Russian oligarch and other Russian businessmen.
The pre-trial investigation is carried out in cooperation with the State Financial Monitoring Service and the State Tax Service of Ukraine.
Note: in accordance with Art. 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and may not be subjected to criminal punishment until his guilt is proved in law and established by a court conviction.
