SBI investigates financial schemes at Bank Sich involving former banker Lekhytskyi

The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) continues to investigate criminal proceedings concerning financial operations of the bankrupt Bank Sich. The former head of Standard Bank and former employee of Yuzhkombank, Andrii Lekhytskyi, has come under the spotlight of the investigation. The inquiry was launched on 8 February 2023 under the procedural supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Links to the business environment and NBU refusal

Andrii Lekhytskyi has come under the spotlight of the investigation due to the examination of the activities of a transit-conversion centre, the issuance of unjustified loans and overdrafts to companies with signs of fictitiousness, currency transfers abroad, and the possible driving of the bank to insolvency. The investigation is being conducted under Part 2 of Article 364, Article 219, and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

It is worth noting that in 2019, the National Bank of Ukraine refused to approve Lekhytskyi's candidacy for the position of Chairman of the Board of Bank Sich. The reasons cited were non-compliance with requirements and doubts regarding his business reputation. Despite this, the expert continued to work in the banking sector as an advisor, managing the companies Solteks Capital and Factoring Systems, which are linked to businessman Denys Horbunenko. The deal for the purchase of the Respublika shopping centre in Kyiv went through the Solteks Capital structure.

Leasing scheme for 32.95 million hryvnia

One of the key episodes of the case concerns LLC Park Rezerv, which is linked to Lyubov Kovalyuk. On 31 December 2021, the company concluded financial leasing agreement No. 578/21 for 406 units of telecommunications equipment. Although the initial application valued the assets at 23.95 million UAH, the amount in the signed document increased to 32.95 million UAH excluding VAT.

The investigation has drawn attention to an advance payment of 3.295 million UAH, which, according to the documents, was allegedly paid 11 months before the conclusion of the agreement. By August 2022, the bank had received only 5.15 million UAH from the lessee. After this, the company was liquidated, and the equipment was not returned.

On 7 June 2023, state registrar Solomiya Kendzior entered a record on the cessation of activities of LLC Park Rezerv. The liquidation committee was headed by Kovalyuk herself. The bank was not notified of the liquidation, despite the presence of a debt of 31.63 million UAH (of which 29.38 million UAH is the principal debt, and 2.246 million UAH is accruals).

Despite the fact that on 4 January 2022, encumbrance No. 29613299 was registered on the equipment, prohibiting its alienation, the bank's assets were not returned. The Deposit Insurance Fund, through Iryna Striukova, is challenging the liquidation of the company in the Commercial Court of Lviv Oblast (proceedings No. 914/3004/23). In the case materials, Kovalyuk's actions are linked to Lekhytskyi's instructions, but the final legal assessment depends on the results of the investigation.

Insurance payments of 47.53 million hryvnia

Another large-scale episode of the investigation concerns insurance payments totalling 47,531,323.15 UAH, which were transferred from December 2020 to February 2022. Under agreement No. G-21/12-01, the company Strakhovyi Dim received 10.43 million UAH, while another 37.1 million UAH was transferred to ASKO-Medservis under agreement No. SO-1705/21-FR/1.

The investigation is analysing the terms of the insurance coverage, which extended to guarantees of 5,000 hryvnia but did not include guarantees of 100 million hryvnia and limits of 200 million hryvnia. These circumstances were recorded in the tax audit report dated 27 September 2023. The seized correspondence indicates that Lekhytskyi was interested in the results of the audit. The main question for the SBI is whether these payments corresponded to the bank's actual obligations and the economic substance of the agreements.

Bankruptcy and examination of credit operations

Within the same proceedings, law enforcement agencies are examining the activities of the conversion centre, currency transfers abroad, and the actions of the bank's officials, the Deposit Insurance Fund, and the NBU. In August 2022, Bank Sich was declared insolvent, and in October of the same year, its banking licence was revoked. Currently, the Deposit Insurance Fund is conducting the liquidation of the institution and the sale of assets.

Also, in the materials related to Lekhytskyi, Mercedes-Benz S 450, Range Rover, and Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles are mentioned, which are registered to relatives and related structures. However, information about the actual owners and the legal basis for using this transport requires separate verification, so it is premature to draw conclusions about asset concealment.

The investigation has been ongoing since February 2023. At present, there is no publicly confirmed final procedural decision regarding Andrii Lekhytskyi. The mere fact of being mentioned in the case materials does not imply proof of guilt, but society has the right to transparency regarding the fate of the funds lost by the bank.