In Russia, a case was opened on the fact of the seizure by Kiev of the assets of a large Russian bank

The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case on the fact that Kiev illegally seized the assets of one of the backbone Russian banks, as well as obstructing the financial activities of its “daughter” in Ukraine. About it informed The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, which transferred the materials of the audit to the Investigative Committee.

“The collected materials made it possible to establish that high-ranking officials of the Kiev regime … wanting to harm the interests of the Russian Federation, the Russian bank, as well as the citizens of Ukraine who are its clients, for a long time, using their managerial resources and legislative capabilities, limited the activities of the Russian bank and its subsidiary in the country,” the statement said.

An unnamed bank repeatedly tried to sell the relevant assets, but Kyiv blocked all these attempts. As a result, the Ukrainian side carried out the expropriation of assets, ensuring their transfer “into the hands of the Ukrainian oligarchy”, which became “the apotheosis of neglecting the interests of its own citizens,” the GP noted.

The amount of damage caused to the bank and its customers exceeded $1 billion, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale) and Part 2 of Art. 169 (Obstruction of legitimate business or other activities).

Earlier in May 2022, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine forcibly seized assets of Russian Sberbank and VEB.RF, whose subsidiaries on Ukrainian territory have been under sanctions since 2017. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council. In particular, such property rights of Russia and its residents as 99.8% of the shares of Prominvestbank (PIB) owned by the state corporation VEB.RF and 100% of the shares of the International Reserve Bank (“MR Bank”) owned by Sberbank were seized.

Since March 23, 2017, Ukraine has imposed sanctions against five structures of Russian state-owned banks operating in Ukraine at that time: Ukrainian subsidiaries of Sberbank, VTB and VEB – Sberbank, Prominvestbank, VTB Bank and BM-2018. Since then, a ban on the withdrawal of capital from these financial institutions outside Ukraine in favor of persons associated with banks has been introduced and extended three times.