The Cypriot companies of Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov played a key role in money laundering from PrivatBank.
The lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov, which was analyzed in detail by NV Business, refers to schemes in which companies registered in Cyprus took an active part.
«Many of the shell companies used the same address. For instance, in “Know Your Customer” records provided to PrivatBank, at least 56 separate entities claimed to be located at Archiepiskopou Makariou Ill Avenue, 155 Proteas House in Limassol, Cyprus. They also used the same few registered agents repeatedly: Icaza, Gonzalez Ruiz & Aleman (BVI) Trust Limited was listed as the registered agent for 21 separate shell entities, and Equity Management & Accountancy Corp was listed as the registered agent for 16 shell entities. The same two authorized signers (neither of whom was Kolomoisky or Boholiubov) together appear for 48 different shells entities.»
«In the same records, Kolomoisky and Boholiubov were listed as the beneficial owners of 35 shell entities that were used to transfer money misappropriated from PrivatBank. At least 96 entities used in those transactions shared a secretary, director, signer, registered agent, shareholder, or address with one of the entities overtly owned by Kolomoisky and Boholiubov, and many shared multiple individuals in common.»
«PrivatBank employees were compelled to act as officers and directors of those shell companies and were instructed to sign documentation to that effect. At least 59 different shell entities listed PrivatBank employees as officers or directors. Those employees were not bona fide officers and directors—they exercised no duties and responsibilities of officers and directors of the companies, which were empty shells.»
According to the US Department of State, the funds withdrawn from PrivatBank were transferred to dozens of fictitious persons in a matter of minutes. «The Cyprus branch of PrivatBank was used to launder stolen loans,« the document said.
The US Department of Justice also mentions the inspection of the Cypriot branch of PrivatBank by the National Bank of Ukraine. Within its framework, the NBU determined that it was a tool used for money laundering for Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov. The NBU found that most of the branch's assets were fictitious; that the loan portfolio of the branch consisted almost exclusively of loans granted to enterprises owned and controlled by Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov; that the provided security was insufficient and did not meet regulatory requirements; and that the purpose of the loans issued by the branch was to conceal the ultimate beneficiaries and the source of the funds.
The US Department of Justice also recalls that PrivatBank, when owned by Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov, “offered interest rates above market average to encourage innocent citizens of Ukraine and individuals around the world to entrust their savings to the bank. Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov betrayed this trust and took the money for themselves. "
The company's shareholders are Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov, and their partners in the United States are Mordechai Korf and Uri Leiber.
Igor Kolomoisky himself denies any allegations of money laundering withdrawn from PrivatBank. «It's a white transparent business. When they gave me money, I said outright: this is my money that I earned. Some of them were from the sale of assets [of a Russian metallurgical and mining group headquartered in London] to Eurasia at one time, in 2008. Since then, we have been investing there [in the US], but it's not just real estate, «he said in an interview with NV.
After the lawsuit was filed on August 6 by the US Department of Justice, Igor Kolomoisky again issued a statement denying all allegations and insisting that all the money invested in the US was earned by him in other businesses and transactions and does not belong to PrivatBank.
