Ukraine completes nationalisation of Sense bank

KYIV (Reuters): The Ukrainian government has completed the takeover of Sense Bank, the country’s top commercial lender, and appointed a new supervisory board and management team.

Sense Bank said on its website that its new chairman was Dmytro Kuzmin, the former head of another bank in Ukraine, Universal Bank. It said Sevki Acuner, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s former head for Ukraine, had been named as head of the supervisory board.

Ukraine started the nationalisation process of Sense bank, previously known as Alfa-Bank Ukraine and owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, last week.

The move was part of Kyiv’s broader efforts to reduce Russia’s influence on its economy following Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Fridman had a 32.86% stake in ABH Holdings S.A., the majority owner of Sense Bank. Fridman is under Western sanctions over his alleged ties to the Kremlin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The fund has successfully completed all procedures … in the bank and transferred its shares to the state,” the deposit guarantee fund said in a statement.

Kuzmin said in the same statement that his new management team would focus on maintaining clients’ trust and ensuring further sustainable development of the bank, the country’s 10th largest in terms of assets.

The Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement that it had prevented the withdrawal from the country of large amounts in banking assets. It did not name the bank but said it had belonged to a Russian oligarch and had been nationalised.