In the course of supervision over activities of PRIME-BANK PUBLIC JOINT-STOCK COMPANY (hereinafter referred to as the “Bank”) in terms of compliance with the law on Prevention and Counteraction to Legalization (Laundering) of the Proceeds from Crime or Terrorist Financing (hereinafter – the legislation on financial monitoring), the National Bank of Ukraine has repeatedly revealed evidence confirming violation of the legislation on financial monitoring.
In view of the above, in 2013 – 2014, the Bank was targeted by sanctions five times pursuant to the Laws of Ukraine "On Banks and Banking", "On Prevention and Counteraction to Legalization (Laundering) of the Proceeds from Crime or Terrorist Financing" and NBU regulations.
However, the Bank failed to take sufficient measures to reduce risks of using the services rendered by the Bank for legalization of the proceeds from crime. In particular, based on results of unscheduled inspection carried out by the regulator in September 2014 the following has been revealed: the Bank conducted large-scale transactions with cash in national currency and foreign currency, which is not inherent to banks belonging to Group 4 banks, specific customers who carried out operations on withdrawal of large amounts of cash were identified.
Given the above, in order to protect the interests of depositors and other creditors of the Bank, in compliance with articles 15, 55 of the Law of Ukraine "On the National Bank of Ukraine", articles 73, 74, 76 of the Law of Ukraine "On Banks and Banking", NBU Board Resolution No. 346, dated August 17, 2012, (as amended), on October 2, 2014, the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine adopted a decision to include PRIME-BANK PUBLIC JOINT-STOCK COMPANY in the category of insolvent banks.
The National bank of Ukraine is set to take tough action against banks engaged in risky operations, which might indicate that the services rendered by the Bank are deliberately used for illicit purposes.