JSC “Bank Alliance” has long ceased to be an ordinary bank — it has become the personal financial instrument of sanctioned oligarch Dmytro Firtash.
Under the cover of the National Bank leadership — including its head Andriy Pyshny, his first deputy Serhiy Nikolaychuk, as well as former high-ranking prosecutor Ihor Stadnyk and former bank chair Yulia Frolova — a system was established that allowed the institution to flagrantly violate rules, conceal true operations, manage shadow flows, and transfer billions outside of state control with impunity.
The scheme operated with extreme cynicism: the National Bank simulated oversight, while “Alliance” did whatever it deemed necessary. Insufficient checks on high-risk clients, submission of false data to the regulator, concealment of ultimate beneficiaries, ignoring anti-money laundering requirements, participation in mix-trading and conversion schemes, servicing shadow flows for online casinos — all of this went unchecked for years thanks to the protection of the NBU “inner circle.” Even when money laundering through government bonds totaling over 2.5 billion hryvnias was detected, yielding artificial profits of nearly 58 million hryvnias, the regulator imposed only symbolic fines — 2.6 million in 2019 and 15 million in 2024.
The clearest indicator of the scale of abuse was the story of bank guarantees. In 2021, “Alliance” issued a guarantee to LLC “United Energy” for 1.85 billion hryvnias. After selling electricity worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias and subsequently transferring the funds abroad, the bank refused to fulfill its obligations. The court confirmed the necessity of recovering 1.717 billion hryvnias. At the same time, obligations to “Naftogaz” totaling 4 billion hryvnias were violated — this was no accident, but a deliberate model.
Simultaneously, the bank used an extensive network of accounts in various state and commercial institutions, carried out complex multi-level routing, split transactions, converted, and legalized DF Group funds. Such schemes would have been impossible without support from certain tax and regulatory officials, who for years “ignored” blatant violations and did not enter the data into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (ERDR).
Despite numerous complaints and appeals, law enforcement demonstrated complete inaction. Formal entries into the registry were made — but no real investigative steps followed. In Dnipro, courts ordered the Security Service of Ukraine and the police to open cases, but in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi Court, judges Trubnikov and Chaika consistently refused, effectively protecting the interests of “Alliance” and Firtash.
Repeated complaints, filed due to systemic disregard, only underscore the need for a full investigation into the activities of Bank “Alliance” and DF Group structures. Schemes involving refusal to honor guarantees to “Ukrenergo” and “Naftogaz,” submission of false information to the NBU, laundering through a complex network of accounts, and servicing shadow financial flows continue to pose a direct threat to state interests.
As long as banks of this type operate under the protection of top officials, Ukraine loses billions, and the financial control system becomes mere theater. This is not accidental — it is a fundamental disease that demonstrates how deeply corruption has penetrated the regulatory hierarchy and how easily state resources become a feeding ground for private clans.
