Arakhamiya explained Verkhovna Rada’s failure to vote on the law for the nationalization of the former Alfa Bank. To remind, one of the main bank holder is Putin’s wallet, co-owner of Alfa-Bank Mykhail Friedman.
Deputies did not support the adoption in the second reading of draft law No.9107-1, which allows for the nationalization and withdrawal from the market of banks under sanctions, as some of its provisions need to be revised.
This was stated by the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamiya.
“No one is against the withdrawal of Alfa, Pin and Motorbank from the market. The hall is confused about the future of other provisions. According to the law, if the NSDC sanctions are imposed even on a minority Ukrainian shareholder, the bank is immediately withdrawn from the market. A strange provision,” Arahamiya noted.
The head of the Servants of the People, who himself voted for the adoption of this law as a whole, clarified that he had formed his opinion on the draft law imperfection on the basis of talks with those who had not voted.
“It is proposed to follow the same procedure as for special confiscation: lawsuit – decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine – confiscation of the problem shareholder’s stake,” he explained the way of finalizing the draft law.
“The decision is fully justified for non-systemic banks. I am sure that we will come to it in the second reading,” added the head of the Servant of the People faction.
According to him, these remarks were not taken into account during the preparation of the draft law for consideration in the second reading.
“In order to finalize it at the committee, the customer’s (NBU’s) consent to this compromise was needed. We did not receive it. I warned that the draft law would not be pushed through; a compromise must be sought,” added Arahamiya.
He also reminded that the Verkhovna Rada had already adopted a law on the procedure for the nationalization of Alfa-Bank (now renamed “Sense Bank”), but it never came into effect.
As reported, the day before, draft law No. 9107-1 in the second reading was supported by 212 deputies out of 226 required for approval. In particular, only 162 deputies from the ruling Servant of the People faction supported its adoption. Later, 264 MPs voted to submit again the draft law for a second reading.
On April 11, the Verkhovna Rada passed the corresponding draft law in general. It allows the National Bank of Ukraine to make the following decisions in relation to sanctioned banks/holders of a substantial stake:
- to prohibit a sanctioned person (individual and/or legal entity) from acquiring or increasing a significant stake in a bank;
- to revoke the banking license and liquidate a bank (which is not determined to be systemically important) or to withdraw a systemically important bank from the market (nationalization).
However, the possibility of withdrawing a systemically important bank from the market in the absence of signs of insolvency is introduced – in case of applying blocking sanctions to the bank or the holder of a substantial stake in it.
Earlier it became known that the National Bank is preparing amendments to the law that will allow for the nationalization of Sense Bank (formerly Alfa Bank), whose nominal owners remain Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven. This is the only systemically important bank owned by sanctioned Russians.
FYI: At the end of October last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed a law on the withdrawal of systemically important banks from the market under martial law. However, this law provides for the nationalization of banks owned by sanctioned persons only in case such a bank experiences a lack of capital, which is not the case with Sense Bank.
At the same time, the National Bank is removing other sanctioned Russian banks from the market: on March 8, the National Bank decided to liquidate Forward Bank, which belongs to sanctioned Russian tycoon Rustam Tariko. On February 27, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine confiscated in favor of the state 88.89% of the shares of First Investment Bank (PIN Bank), owned by president of the Russian football club CSKA Evgeny Giner.
Tags: Russia russia ukraine war Ukraine Ukraine government Verkhovna Rada
