At the center of the corruption scandal was the small bank "Alliance", which has recently come under the crosshairs of law enforcement agencies. The deputy head of the Office of the President, Rostislav Shurma, may be the "secret patron" of this bank, who, thanks to his close relationship with the head of the supervisory board, Pavlo Shcherban, probably repels "attacks" of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and provides protection from law enforcement agencies, journalists claim.
Alliance Bank became widely known after the scandal in which the lawyer of the Miller law firm Oleksiy Nosov allegedly tried to bribe NABU detectives and SAP prosecutors in the case of Ukrenergo's loss assignment. Although Oleksandr Sosis, the former chairman of the board of ASKA insurance company Rinata Akhmetova, is formally the main shareholder, the real manager and puppeteer of the bank is Pavlo Shcherban, who heads the supervisory board from August 2021.
Shcherban has a long career in the banking sector, working in such institutions as Prominvestbank, Volodymyrskyi, Pivdenkombank and others. However, the most attention is drawn to his role in the Alliance bank and his close ties with Rostislav Shurma, whom Shcherban probably met about ten years ago during joint work on schemes.
According to open sources, Shurma and Shcherban have common interests not only in the banking sector, but also in other businesses. In particular, Shcherban owns the gas production company Viva Exploration, which received a license for oil and gas production in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Another interesting asset is the recently acquired elevator in Khorol, which, according to analysts, could become a launching pad for expansion into the agricultural sector.
In addition, Shcherban is investing in the IT business, which includes the creation of a multidisciplinary IT team to service banking products and retail networks. These investments may be part of a strategic plan, in particular, against the background of Shurma's known interest in digitalization of the economy and his competition with Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Despite numerous violations of the National Bank's regulations and corruption scandals, the "Alliance" bank did not undergo temporary administration. This may indicate the presence of shadowy support from high officials such as Shurma. However, as the journalists note, whether "Alliance" is really a priority for Shcherban, or whether these investments are part of a wider venture portfolio, remains a question.
