Ipatov Sergei

Biography

2022: Extradition from Montenegro to Russia on charges of embezzlement of 35 billion rubles

On July 15, 2022, it became known about the extradition from Montenegro to Russia of the former head of the department for the introduction and support of banking products of the information technology department of the Settlement and Credit System Agency JSC (Arksbank) Sergei Ipatov. He is accused of fraud committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy on an especially large scale, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

According to investigators, from April 2014 to July 2016, Ipatov, with accomplices, fraudulently stole Arksbank's funds in the amount of more than 1 million rubles.

Arksbank's former Chief information officer has been extradited from Montenegro to Russia. He is accused of embezzling 35 billion rubles

The official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Irina Volk, explained to reporters that Ipatov, along with other employees of the financial institution, systematically entered inaccurate information into the electronic database of banking transactions.

{{quote 'In particular, deliberately underestimated the amount of deposits of individuals attracted during the day. The difference between the information reflected in the database and the funds actually issued by depositors was stolen. The credit and financial institution suffered damage in the amount of 35 billion rubles, Volk said. }}

The investigation believes that funds from this and a number of other financial institutions could be withdrawn by their shadow beneficiary Ilya Kligman, who was put on the wanted list. According to Kommersant, since Ipatov fled from criminal prosecution, leaving the territory of Russia, on behalf of the Prosecutor General's Office, he was put on the international wanted list.

He was detained on the territory of Montenegro, after which the Russian supervisory authority sent a request to foreign colleagues. Subsequently, a decision was made to extradite the accused. On July 15, 2022, accompanied by employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia and the Russian Bureau of Interpol, Sergei Ipatov was taken home.^[1]

2024: Sentence - 6.5 years in prison for embezzlement of 34 billion rubles

On October 14, 2024, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow found Sergei Ipatov, the former head of the department for the introduction and support of banking products of the information technology department of Arksbank JSC, guilty of embezzlement of depositors' funds. The total amount of damage exceeds 34 billion rubles.

The lawsuit was filed by the state corporation Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA). According to investigators, from April 2014 to July 2016, Ipatov, together with accomplices, stole funds from a bank using a special fraudulent scheme. To do this, the attackers, through a computer program, entered inaccurate information into the electronic databases for accounting for depositors of the financial structure and the size of their deposits.

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Freepik

The essence of the scheme, according to the Kommersant newspaper, was that Ipatov convinced the management of Arksbank to use the Front Office program for electronic accounting of banking operations. Ipatov stated that the introduction of this product will save money by reducing the staff of the credit institution. In fact, as the police found out, for about a year and a half, Ipatov, with the help of this program, at the end of each working day, "significantly underestimated the amount of funds contributed by individuals to his accounts." The difference between the information reflected in the database and the money actually received by the bank was stolen.

Ipatov, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, was extradited to Russia from Montenegro, where he was hiding from criminal prosecution. In accordance with the verdict of the court, he was sentenced to a prison sentence of 6.5 years.

The Bank of Russia previously revoked Arksbank's banking license, since its activities "were focused on attracting funds from the population and placing them in unsatisfactory assets."^[2]

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