Loans worth billions of rubles disappeared from the Asia-Pacific Bank
The former head of a bank branch is facing trial for bad loans worth 4.2 billion.
Kommersant learned that the Presnensky District Court of Moscow is now considering the criminal case of Tatyana Shablyko, the former head of the Moscow branch of the Asia-Pacific Bank (ATB), accused of large-scale embezzlement. According to the Investigation Department (SD) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the defendant contributed to the withdrawal of about 4.2 billion rubles from the ATB's capital branch through fictitious loan agreements during 2014-2015. The defendant denies her guilt and claims to have acted under the instructions of the bank's head office in Khabarovsk.
The hearings in the criminal case of Mrs. Shablyko did not start immediately. Several preliminary hearings were first held, during which the defense demanded that the materials be returned to the prosecutor’s office due to the vague charges. It was unclear to the defense lawyers who was responsible for making decisions on granting loans – the head office of the bank in Khabarovsk or the management of its Moscow branch. Additionally, the Moscow City Court had to consider an appeal against the restriction of Tatyana Shablyko's access to the case materials, which was accepted by the Meshchansky District Court upon the request of the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After the defense's motions were rejected by the presiding judge Elena Abramova, a representative of the prosecutor’s office summarized the investigation materials. They stated that Tatyana Shablyko was charged with large-scale embezzlement (part 4 of article 160 of the Criminal Code), although she was initially charged with fraud.
According to the prosecutor, a criminal case regarding the embezzlement of ATB funds was initiated in 2018, but Tatyana Shablyko was only brought to justice in spring 2021. On April 15, she was arrested by the decision of the Tverskoy Court. In the summer of 2022, the Moscow City Court refused to extend the woman’s detention, placing her under house arrest.
The investigation alleges that with the involvement of Ms. Shablyko, at least 4.2 billion rubles were withdrawn from the ATB's capital branch through fictitious loan agreements from May 2014 to February 2015. In addition, loans were granted to FTK LLC, EXPO-Leasing LLC, AV-Import LLC, VMHY, and other companies connected to the defendant or other individuals involved in the investigation. Tatyana Shablyko maintained her innocence during the investigation.
She reiterated her innocence after the prosecutor's speech. According to the defendant, she understands the accusation, but claims she could not make decisions on disputed loan agreements independently, as they went through approval and verification processes at ATB. She stated that she was following instructions from the bank’s head office in Khabarovsk, particularly from the then chairman of the board of directors of ATB, Andrey Vdovin, who was one of the beneficiaries of the credit institution until 2018. Notably, the MIA SD took Ms. Shablyko’s statement seriously, as a criminal case was also initiated against the banker. However, charges could not be brought against him as he had left for Germany.
