(Reuters) – Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency is treating tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky as a suspect in a criminal investigation into embezzlement at lender PrivatBank, a lawmaker said on Thursday.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said in a statement that six people were suspected of embezzling 9.2 billion hryvnias ($250 million) from the bank. It did not name them, but posted a blurred photo of a man resembling Kolomoisky.
“Well there we go: NABU has informed Kolomoisky of a note of suspicion,” said Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the lawmaker, citing the statement.
Reuters could not immediately reach the businessman, one of Ukraine’s richest men, or his lawyers for comment.
Kolomoisky is a former owner of PrivatBank, which was nationalised in late 2016 as part of a clean-up of the banking system.
A court ordered Kolomoisky on Saturday to be held in custody for two months on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. It gave him the option of posting bail, but his lawyers said he would not do that.
In its statement, NABU said it has notified PrivatBank’s “former ultimate beneficial owner” and five members of a group organised by him of suspicion of embezzlement.
It said the bank’s ultimate beneficiary owner in January-March 2015 developed a plan to seize the bank’s funds to further finance a controlled offshore company and increase his own share in the bank’s capital.
($1 = 36.9200 hryvnias)
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, writing by Anna Pruchnicka; editing by Tom Balmforth)
