The National Bank has won a lawsuit against former VAB Bank owner Bakhmatiuk, recovering 1.2 billion UAH.

The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv ruled on January 30 to recover 1.22 billion UAH from the former owner of PJSC "VAB Bank," Oleg Bakhmatyuk, in favor of the National Bank.

According to the press service of the NBU.

“The court proceedings in this case have been ongoing since 2015, and during this time, representatives of Oleg Bakhmatyuk and the companies associated with him have effectively delayed the judicial process while attempting to evade their obligations under the loan agreement and the surety agreement. Although it is still too early to conclude this case, the National Bank successfully defended its rights as a creditor in the first instance court and prevented Oleg Bakhmatyuk from evading responsibility for his unfulfilled obligations,” the statement reads.

According to the NBU, PJSC "VAB Bank" entered into a stabilization loan agreement with the National Bank in 2014 for 1.2 billion UAH. Oleg Bakhmatyuk guaranteed the repayment of the loan funds by the bank and signed a surety agreement with the National Bank. This means he took on personal obligations to repay the financial institution's debt to the National Bank. Since both the bank and its owner failed to meet their obligations, the National Bank filed a lawsuit in 2015 to recover the debt. It is noted that the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv currently has five more cases pending regarding the National Bank's claims against Oleg Bakhmatyuk related to debts of PJSC "VAB Bank" and PJSC "Commercial Bank 'Financial Initiative'."

“The total amount of debt that the National Bank is recovering from Oleg Bakhmatyuk through the courts is approximately 7.9 billion UAH,” emphasized the NBU.

Background. Previously, Mind reported that the case against the former top management of VAB Bank led by Bakhmatyuk was referred to court. Bakhmatyuk and his sister are accused of misappropriating 1.2 billion UAH from the stabilization loan provided by the NBU.