"Alliance" of corrupt officials. National Bank official Nataliya Dehtyarova was exposed for lobbying Russian business

The Head of the National Bank’s Banking Supervision Department, Nataliya Dehtyarova, has found herself at the center of a series of corruption scandals. Journalists have exposed her lobbying for Russian businesses in Ukraine, and the story has reached European publications. Notable cases include those with "Alfa-Bank," "Alliance Bank," and the betting company 1xBet, but there are also other instances that have "brought infamy" to the official linked to Kyrylo Shevchenko.

Fraud and the Russian trail in Ukrainian banks

Nataliya Dehtyarova was inherited by the new NBU leadership from Kyrylo Shevchenko, who is currently wanted by the NABU for suspicion of embezzling state funds. The Banking Supervision Department is one of the main sources of benefits within the National Bank, with significant leverage over financial institutions. Insiders in the regulator claim that Shevchenko still holds influence in the NBU and receives his share, for instance, for protecting shell banks and banks with Russian capital that should not be operating in Ukraine at all.

Moreover, if the NABU decides to inspect the country’s financial sector amid these corruption scandals in the Ukrainian government, investigators should also examine "Ukrgasbank," since there, too, are Shevchenko’s people in charge — Chairman of the Board Kravets and his first deputy Dubrovin.

It’s also necessary to investigate what’s happening with "Alliance Bank." Recently, "Ukrenergo" won a court case against Alliance Bank for UAH 1.11 billion over a claim involving the non-fulfillment of a bank guarantee for "United Energy’s" obligations under an electricity purchase contract. The real owner of "Alliance" is the fugitive oligarch Dmytro Firtash, and the institution exists purely for executing various schemes in the financial market, such as manipulations with bank guarantees.

The case with "Ukrenergo" illustrates how Firtash, Kolomoiskyi, and Shevchenko with Dehtyarova attempted to "swindle" the state out of a billion, but the war and the NABU case against the former NBU head intervened. "Alliance" shouldn’t have issued this guarantee since the bank’s capital at the time of the transaction was UAH 610 million, meaning the maximum guarantee size couldn’t exceed UAH 750 million. There’s evidence of report falsification and regulatory violations. The bank didn’t even reflect the guarantee in its balance sheet.

Once "Ukrenergo" wins the appeal and within two months writes off its UAH 1.1 billion, and clients’ funds are transferred to the state company, "Alliance" will be virtually bankrupt. Clients should think about their deposits. The bank has real obligations amounting to UAH 9.9 billion, but its assets are problematic. On paper, they are UAH 11.1 billion, yet in reality, immediately UAH 3 billion out of the UAH 5 billion loan portfolio exists as unsecured loans to Firtash’s companies, which he won’t repay. "Alliance" awaits the fate of "Nadra" and "Rodovid" banks, which the oligarch gutted using a similar scheme. Inevitable bankruptcy of "Alliance" will cost the Deposit Guarantee Fund UAH 2.5 billion in repaying individual deposits.

There are legends about schemes involving Firtash’s bank in the market. For example, NJSC Naftogaz specifies separately in its documents that it does not accept bank guarantees from "Alliance Bank."

After the war started, Firtash, with NBU’s blessing, "defrauded" farmers, disrupting their sowing. More details in this article, but in short — it was actual looting during the Russian aggression. Victims recount that in "Alliance Bank," in collusion with Ostchem, they executed a scheme — credit to farmers for purchasing fertilizers through intermediaries. The loans were secured with agricultural equipment of the producers. In spring 2022, farmers, of course, didn’t receive any fertilizers, and their money went to the accounts of intermediary firms. One agribusiness suffered losses of UAH 200 million, and there are dozens of other similar cases.

"Alliance" has worse cases on its record — money laundering, financing terrorists in Donbas, channeling funds to Russia in collaboration with Global Money. The most Dehtyarova managed were symbolic fines.

Another financial institution servicing transactions of prohibited activities is ConcordBank. In September 2021, it fell under US sanctions for working with the Russian crypto exchange SUEX. Through ConcordBank, payments were made by Russian citizens to Hydra, the largest drug sale platform, with a turnover in Russia of at least €1.5 billion a year. Under US pressure, the NBU fined "Concord" UAH 60 million for laundering "dirty" money. Yet, Dehtyarova saved the bank from liquidation.

In January, news broke about her patronage of the operations of the Russian betting company 1xBet in Ukraine. Posing as a European company, Russians entered the Ukrainian market in spring 2022 at the height of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Quickly enough, journalists found the bookie’s connection to Russian intelligence, with 1% of the company’s profit going to treat soldiers of the Russian army.

But Dehtyarova and her department turned a blind eye to these facts until the case reached President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and he imposed sanctions against 1xBet’s partner, the Latvian company Royal Pay Europe. The company’s Ukrainian accounts were frozen with UAH 3.2 billion.

Another public scandal involving Dehtyarova erupted over the operation of Russian Alfa-Bank (Sense Bank) in Ukraine during the war. Economist Borys Kushniruk believes this fact discredits the president and the NBU leadership. He claims that Dehtyarova has been associated with Alfa-Bank since at least 2018. The Banking Supervision Department ignores the withdrawal of funds from the bank ahead of potential nationalization. Last year, 65% of corporate client funds and about 25% of individual funds left Alfa-Bank, with capital outflow accelerating almost twofold by autumn, to UAH 7 billion monthly.

"Insider UA" reports that some of the funds withdrawn from Sense Bank may have gone to support the Russian army.

Dehtyarova also "overlooks" the operation of a bank in Ukraine owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Giner. The investigation uncovered links between Giner and the "Rostec" corporation, supplying arms and ammunition to the Russian army. However, PIN Bank belonged to the oligarch until the end of autumn 2022, and now it’s only formally under state control. A similar situation exists with another Russian bank in Ukraine, "Forward Bank." It belonged to the "Russian Standard Group" of Rustam Tariko and is now under state management. However, former bank owners retain influence over these institutions through management that remains in place.

"Enemy agents in the NBU"

The European publication europennews, which dedicated an extensive article to the operations of Russian financial institutions in Ukraine, notes that Dehtyarova’s activities threaten Ukraine’s national security. "Russian operations in Ukraine’s financial market were approved by NBU head Shevchenko, and Dehtyarova is his appointee and overseer of this direction," writes the publication.

Journalist Nazar Prykhodko filed a statement with the Ukrainian Security Service regarding Dehtyarova’s criminal activities. "If the SSU confirms the patronage facts of 1xBet, during a state of war, Dehtyarova’s actions will cost her not just her position," adds financial journalist Serhiy Lyamets.

"While Ukraine is making Herculean efforts in military and diplomatic spheres, barely securing support with modern weapons, almost anonymous entities undermine this process from within, ensuring the operation of the Russian financial sector in Ukraine during the war," says economist Borys Kushniruk.

Journalists and experts label Dehtyaryova as one of the numerous Russian agents within the Ukrainian government.

Journalist Nazar Prykhodko suggests that Dehtyarova was recruited by the Russians even before the 2014 revolution when she worked at "Prominvestbank," which belonged to the Russian state VEB, known as "Putin’s bank."

"The NBU is an agency ensuring the country’s financial security. But there is direct evidence indicating that enemy agents work within this agency," notes volunteer Oleksandr Aronets. He points out that Dehtyarova was aware of who was behind the bookie 1xBet and that the company funds the Russian army but didn’t stop its activities. "I have only one theory — the agent was long ago recruited and systematically paid for their traitorous services. Law enforcement can find and document the accounts as well as determine the amounts involved," Aronets adds.

These amounts are no longer a secret. Western media mention an amount of $50,000 in cash per month from each financial institution. In 2021, Dehtyarova amended her tax declaration 30 times, becoming a millionaire.

Author: Mariya Shypitska