Wednesday, July 3, 2024
spot_imgspot_imgspot_imgspot_img

In the spotlight

Insurance in the private sector: why a public financial institution used funds for optional services

Bank employees can receive medical treatment in private clinics and contact English-speaking specialists.

For the past two years, Ukraine has been at war, with the Ukrainian armed forces facing Russian aggression.

It is not surprising that a significant part of the country's state budget is allocated to the defense and security sector. In addition, our Armed Forces are also supported by ordinary Ukrainians, who regularly donate their funds for their needs. But at the same time, some government agencies, for some unknown reason, allow themselves to spend significant money on unnecessary things.

PrivatBank is the largest state-owned financial institution that accumulates the money of the majority of Ukrainians. Of course, Privat does not provide services for free and receives profit from its activities. Therefore, it is important to know what needs the government agency spends the funds received on. PrivatBank expenses are not so easy to find, but if you study their website, you can find something.

For example, in 2022, the bank spent UAH 121 million on insurance for its employees. It should be noted that compared to pre-war 2021, these expenses have tripled. For comparison, the bank's expenses for charity (to help the army and victims) for the same period amounted to UAH 81 million. And for 9 months of 2023, expenses for employee insurance amounted to UAH 53 million.

You should write a little more about insurance. Thus, in July 2023, PrivatBank held a tender for the purchase of optional medical insurance services for its own employees and their relatives, including VIP insurance packages for the bank’s top management. According to the results of the tender for the “medical insurance” service of the Insurance Company “VUSO”, the total cost is 95,000,000 hryvnia.

According to the terms of the tender documentation, which for some reason was changed several times during the tender, medical insurance essentially means that bank employees will receive treatment in paid clinics at the expense of PrivatBank. The insurance packages include VIP packages for bank management, which will be served by English-speaking specialists, and insurance packages for their relatives. In addition, bank employees will pay an additional 25% for the specified insurance. That is, the insurance company will receive not 95 million, but 118 million hryvnia.

Thus, the state-owned PrivatBank, based on the results of this tender, spent approximately 1,500 Maviks on possible treatment of its own employees and their relatives, which could help our troops on the front line. In this regard, the question arises: could Privat employees do without optional insurance and use the saved funds to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine?

The VUSO Insurance Company won the Privat tender for optional medical insurance. And it wouldn’t hurt to say more about it either.

One of the ultimate beneficial owners of PrJSC SK VUSO is Mikhail Igorevich Nazarchuk, he is also the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PrJSC SK VUSO.

It is known about Nazarchuk that he is a lustrated official from the time of Yanukovych. In the team of the fugitive president, he served as a member of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.

Some media spread information that Mikhail Nazarchuk and SK VUSO were involved in financing Donbass separatists and securities fraud.

But there were no official communications from Ukrainian law enforcement agencies in favor of this information.

The insurance company VUSO, at the request of “Apostrophe,” confirmed that Mikhail Igorevich Nazarchuk is indeed one of the final beneficiaries of the company. VUSO also noted that the National Bank of Ukraine has made a decision to recognize the ownership structure of PJSC IC VUSO as transparent.

The company also reported statistical data on the activities of PJSC SK VUSO in voluntary health insurance. Thus, for the period from 01.01.2023 to 01.12.2023, PJSC “IC “VUSO” made payments for voluntary health insurance in the amount of 245 million UAH. The total number of insured persons under VHI as of December 1, 2023 is 110 thousand insured persons. Number of calls from insured persons to the medical contact center in Q4. 2023 averages 2,800 per day.

In addition, as noted in the answer, “SK “VUSO” actively helps the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Publications about assistance and financial activities are reflected on the company’s website, Facebook, and Instagram.

***

“Apostrophe” also made a request to the management of PrivatBank, in which he wanted to find out what dictated the desire of the management of the financial institution to spend 95 million UAH during the war on optional insurance for its employees and why the company “VUSO” was chosen for insurance?

Although the deadline for responding to the request has expired, a response from PrivatBank has still not been received.

spot_img
Source Apostrophe
spot_img

In the spotlight

spot_imgspot_img

Do not miss