August 6, 2026. Investigative authorities have concluded the investigation into a high-profile criminal case involving Ihor Kolomoyskyi — the former beneficial owner of PrivatBank and ex-head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration. The case materials have been officially forwarded to the court. According to the prosecution, in 2015, a large-scale scheme was implemented to embezzle bank funds totaling over 9.2 billion hryvnias.
Embezzlement mechanism: fictitious bond buyback
According to the case materials, the criminal scheme was organized between January and March 2015. At that time, Kolomoyskyi, acting as the bank's ultimate beneficial owner and simultaneously heading the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, initiated actions aimed at asset stripping. The investigation claims that the bank was artificially obligated to pay an offshore company under its control more than 9.2 billion hryvnias. The official pretext for these transactions was the buyback of its own bonds; however, the transaction value was inflated, which allowed funds to be diverted outside the bank's financial system.
Objectives and money laundering
According to the investigation, the primary goal of the operation was to finance an offshore structure under Kolomoyskyi's control and to increase his share in the bank's authorized capital. To launder part of the stolen funds (amounting to over 446 million hryvnias), a chain of five legal entities was used. The money was transferred under the guise of securities trading operations and subsequently credited to the personal account of the ultimate beneficial owner. Later, these funds were used to contribute to the bank's authorized capital, which formally complied with the requirements of the National Bank of Ukraine, although the origin of the capital was criminal.
Timeline and participants
Although the embezzlement occurred more than a decade ago, the official suspicion against Ihor Kolomoyskyi was announced only on September 7, 2023. On the same day, five other individuals became participants in the case, including the former head of the Kyiv branch of PrivatBank. Over the past years, investigative bodies have conducted extensive work to gather a base of evidence, which has now been transferred to the court for consideration on the merits. This event marks an important stage in the process of holding individuals accountable for economic crimes committed during the period of war and financial instability.
