The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance has created a commission tasked with managing the sale of Sense Bank and Ukrgazbank. This development comes as the ministry has already selected advisors for the sale process.
According to Minister Korytskyi, representatives from international financial organizations and European Union institutions may participate in the commission’s work. The commission will determine the procedures for conducting the sales, make decisions regarding participant eligibility, and approve the starting prices for bidding based on advisor recommendations, as well as the final sale prices. Additionally, the commission will submit relevant decisions for government approval.
“The goal is to create appropriate conditions for a transparent and competitive sale of the state’s equity stakes in both banks,” the Prime Minister stated.
In context, Ukrgazbank was nationalized in 2009, while Sense Bank was nationalized in July 2023. Sense Bank is involved in a National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) investigation into multi-layered corruption in Ukraine called “Forest Gump.” Amidst this investigation, Korytskyi announced in August that the Ministry of Finance has a clear mandate to expedite the sale process for the bank.
This summer, the National Bank of Ukraine fined Ukrgazbank 17.6 million UAH for violations of financial monitoring requirements.
