The Ministry of Defense's overdue receivables of more than UAH 36 billion could have been prevented if the state-owned Ukreximbank, authorized to service military contracts, had been more careful in checking foreign counterparties.
This is stated in the blog of Oleksii Kushch, economist and financial analyst on the Gordon.ua website.
He drew attention to the fact that Oleksandr Ihnatenko, the former Deputy Chairman of Ukreximbank, who is under investigation by NABU in the Ukrgasbank case, has not yet been questioned by the bureau. The analyst notes that, according to the Ministry of Finance, from January 1, 2022, to May 1, 2023, overdue receivables arising from the non-fulfillment of contracts concluded by the Ministry of Defense increased by UAH 33.2 billion to UAH 36.3 billion. The Ministry of Defense filed claims against unscrupulous contractors for UAH 8.9 billion. One of them, the Polish company Alfa Sp z. o.o., which overdue the supply of weapons to Ukraine, has come to the attention of law enforcement. According to Oleksii Kushch, these payments should have been checked by Ukreximbank, authorized to service military contracts, and directly by Oleksandr Ihnatenko, who headed the relevant sector at the bank.
"Anyone who has ever dealt with our banks knows that the bank's currency control and financial monitoring not only examine the contracts with foreign counterparties, but also check them against such indicators as "business purpose" and "economic feasibility". It is clear that when it comes to payments worth hundreds of millions of dollars or euros, such control is even more rigorous. Especially with regard to arms supply contracts," the financial analyst said.
According to him, such a thorough check should have been carried out by Ukreximbank and Ihnatenko, who was responsible for clients under import contracts. Kushch reminds that Ihnatenko is involved in the embezzlement case at Ukrgasbank, and NABU detectives should investigate his activities as Deputy Chairman of Ukreximbank, in particular, in terms of military contracts.
"Ihnatenko is involved in the Ukrgasbank case and cooperates with the investigation. So why not immediately investigate the problematic debt of the Defense Ministry, especially those contracts that were serviced by Ukreximbank during Ihnatenko's tenure as a member of the board (all of 2022 and January-August 2023)?" asks the economist.
He emphasizes that in the Ukrgasbank case, Ihnatenko was actually released from liability as a result of a plea deal with the investigation, and points out that the topic of Ukreximbank's participation in servicing military contracts did not interest law enforcement. This may mean that investigators are interested in obtaining testimony from Ihnatenko against former NBU Head Kyrylo Shevchenko, who is a defendant in the Ukrgasbank case.
"On the one hand, the NABU reclassifies the Ukrgazbank case from embezzlement to a criminal group, and on the other hand, it approves the negligence of the former deputy head of the bank and dismisses him. All this for the sake of making Ihnatenko a key witness in the case of former NBU Head Kyrylo Shevchenko. They want Ihnatenko to testify, but providing "the kind of testimony that is needed". But can such testimony from such a witness be objective? Obviously, it is a rhetorical question," concludes Oleksii Kushch.