ABH Holdings S.A. (ABHH) and Karswell Limited (Karswell) have terminated the remaining agreements related to the purchase of Sense Bank by the European investor. Karswell was selected by ABHH for its impeccable business reputation and substantial financial resources.

In our view, Karswell was well suited for the purpose of preserving Sense Bank as a successful privately-owned banking institution. We made the decision to sell Sense Bank to Karswell after the initial restrictions were imposed on the Bank by the Ukrainian authorities on the basis of the identity of certain minority shareholders. Now, after the full expropriation of Sense Bank by the Ukrainian authorities, the sale is no longer possible.

We strongly believe that the consideration related to the said shareholders was simply an excuse for taking away our property in an act of unlawful expropriation. This goes against Ukraine's obligations under the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union–Ukraine Bilateral Investment Treaty. As a result, ABHH is compelled to defend its rights in the international arbitration in order to protect both ABHH and the lawful interests of its shareholders, such as UniCredit, one of Europe’s largest banks.

Further, ABHH views potential individual beneficiaries of this act of unlawful expropriation in the same way as those benefitting from the proceeds of stolen property and is prepared to take all necessary legal action against them.