Foreign Ministry State Secretary Bankov embezzled UAH 37 million in international aid – AntAC
The Anti-Corruption Action Centre has revealed who was served notices of suspicion by the NABU and the SAPO in a case involving the misappropriation of more than UAH 37 million donated by foreign citizens and donors to support Ukraine at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Censor.NET reports this, citing a post by the Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC).
Names of suspects
Notices of suspicion were served to:
- former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleksandr Bankov (who is believed to have organised the scheme);
- former head of the Foreign Ministry’s administrative apparatus and current adviser to the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN Office in Geneva Ramiz Ramazanov;
- Vladyslav Reznikov, head of the controlled NGO Centre for the Promotion of International Cooperation;
- the NGO’s accountant.
According to investigators, Bankov, who was serving as State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry at the time, persuaded donors and employees of Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad to transfer financial assistance to the bank account of an NGO under his control.
The funds were subsequently transferred to the accounts of controlled sole proprietors, who then channelled them to "back offices" for laundering. The scheme’s participants used the laundered money for their own enrichment.
Background
- Earlier reports said that NABU and SAPO had exposed an organised criminal group headed by a former state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Its members misappropriated funds sent by foreign nationals and donors to support Ukraine at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
- Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to reports from the NABU and the SAPO regarding the possible involvement of a former Foreign Ministry State Secretary in the misappropriation of donor funds intended to support Ukraine. The ministry said its internal audit had uncovered, and the State Audit Service of Ukraine had confirmed, evidence of possible abuse involving a portion of the aid collected in bank accounts at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
