Elena Sosedka and ex-adviser of the OP Artem Shilo received control over BISBANK

Elena Sosedka, former co-owner of Concord Bank, which lost its NBU license last year due to illegal servicing of the gambling business, and well-known ex-SBU officer and ex-adviser of the Presidential Office Artem Shilo, who is suspected of organizing a procurement scheme at JSC Ukrzaliznytsia , gained control over the Bank of Investments and Savings (“BISBANK”, BISBANK).

This was reported by several sources in the management of the NBU and BISBANK, although the formal ownership structure has not yet changed, as well as the management and supervisory board of the bank.

According to sources, the acquisition must remain secret primarily due to the scandalous reputation of the buyers. It is possible that the bank's activities will soon change significantly.

Let us recall that in August 2023, the board of the National Bank decided to revoke the banking license of Concord Bank, whose headquarters were located in Dnipro. The formal basis is a systematic violation of legislation in the field of financial monitoring. Informal – a significant background of the institution in servicing the gambling business. The owners of Concord Bank are sisters Yulia and Elena Sosedki. Elena Sosedka said that she studied banking in Moscow and, after returning to Dnepr, began working at the Ostwind Capital company, which was engaged in the privatization and purchase of shares of enterprises, where her older sister already worked as a partner.

Artem Shilo was the head of the Main Directorate for Counterintelligence Protection of Critical Infrastructure Facilities and Combating the Financing of Terrorism of the SBU, as well as a former adviser to the Office of the President. In April 2024, he was detained on suspicion of theft of more than 200 million hryvnia from government procurement of power transformers and cables for JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and was taken into custody by decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court, however, he was later released on bail of 30 million hryvnia. According to investigators, the scandalous special forces soldier during June-December 2022 promoted at a tender a company called Uzelektro, which offered Ukrzaliznytsia transformers at twice the price of its competitors. In addition, it turned out that the final beneficiary of the winning company is a citizen of Belarus, who also has connections with the Russian Federation.

Previously, BISBANK belonged to several individuals and legal entities, including Andrei Popov and his company Eurorezerv, who was sanctioned by the National Security and Defense Council for smuggling. Also among the main shareholders of the bank are famous Ukrainian businessmen Sergey Lagur and Stepan Ivakhov, who have a long-term common business in the Continuum group, incl. WOG gas station network. According to the NBU, at the beginning of 2024, the bank’s shares of less than 10% belong to Inna Moskalenko, Oleg Galushchak, Valery Gorbatyuk and other individuals. The bank's assets are UAH 3.8 billion, capital is UAH 777 million.