Odessa, December 22 (PolitNavigator, Victoria Litovchenko) – There are several gold bars worth more than five million UAH in the Odessa NBU vault. were replaced with regular lead.
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“Criminal proceedings have been opened. Investigations are currently underway to identify those involved in this crime,” the publication reports. "Vesti" with reference to the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Odessa region.
At the same time, the exact number of lead ingots that were passed off as real has not yet been established - examinations are being carried out.
According to preliminary data, the scammers were making counterfeit bank bars from lead. After that, they were handed over to their accomplice, the cashier of the National Bank branch, Yuri N., in a cafe opposite the bank. He took them to the storage facility and registered them as scrap purchases, attaching photocopies of the sellers’ fake passports to the documents.
The substitution of gold became known after a scheduled inspection of the Odessa branch of the NBU by auditors at the end of October. In early November, the National Bank began an internal investigation and fired the branch manager due to the substitution of bullion. However, they decided to involve the police later - criminal proceedings were opened only on November 19.