The history of Alliance Bank is increasingly resembling the activities of a classic financial institution and increasingly an example of the systematic use of the bank as a tool for servicing dubious schemes. Behind the facade of a "small but stable" bank, as journalists and law enforcement officials claim, a mechanism for money laundering, pumping state resources, and covering up corruption deals with the participation of influential figures has been operating for years.
The key point was the scandal with the United Energy company. As a result of this scheme, the state lost UAH 716 million on electricity transactions and has not yet received bank guarantees for another UAH 1 billion 717 million. The bank refused to fulfill its obligations, stating that the guarantee was issued with violations. This is a document that, according to the investigation, was signed by the chairman of the board alone without proper decisions of the management bodies and for an amount that exceeded the bank's equity.
In fact, the state received a guarantee that was not backed by real resources. The trials have been going on for years, and the total budget losses have already reached about UAH 2.5 billion — a critical amount in the context of a full-scale war.
The chairman of the bank's board is being investigated under Article 364-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Among the defendants in the case are people from Ihor Kolomoisky's entourage, in particular Mykhailo Kiperman, as well as Yulia Frolova, who directly signed the problematic guarantee. In parallel, NABU documented an attempted bribery in the amount of $200,000 for removing the case from anti-corruption control.
Financial monitoring attracts special attention. In recent years, the National Bank of Ukraine has fined Alliance five times for a total of UAH 109 million for systemic violations in the field of financial monitoring. According to investigations, funds related to fraudulent schemes and gambling passed through the bank's accounts, and activists also reported possible channels of financing structures with a Russian footprint through payment services.
The bank's ownership structure only exacerbates these issues. The main shareholder with a share of 89% is Oleksandr Sosis, a businessman known since the 1990s, associated with the insurance business and circles of large industrial capital. The bank's financial indicators look extremely fragile: liabilities amount to UAH 12.4 billion with assets of UAH 13.5 billion. According to experts, a loss in key litigation could be fatal.
The bank's co-owner, Pavlo Shcherban, has also been repeatedly mentioned in the media in connection with businesses with a Russian footprint or contacts with individuals close to Russian structures. This makes the institution even more toxic from a national security perspective.
Despite the massive losses, not a single hryvnia from the problematic UAH 1.7 billion in guarantees has ever been returned to the state. None of the key participants in the schemes have compensated the budget for losses, and actual convictions remain isolated.
Alliance Bank in this story appears not as a victim of risky market decisions, but as a convenient tool for financial fraud. And as long as such structures continue to operate in this mode, each new government contract or guarantee carries the risk of another billion-dollar loss for taxpayers.
