A loan worth 160 thousand, out of nowhere

This story happened in our city – Chernihiv. It is as mysterious as it is instructive. And it shows that no one is immune from mistakes and troubles – neither a careful, decent citizen, nor a financial institution with a long-standing and unblemished reputation, which is accustomed to risks. Read this story and you – perhaps this knowledge will save you from rash steps and help you not to risk the health of loved ones for the sake of illusory profit.

One family turned out to owe a credit union a lot of money. But these people are ready to swear on anything, they did not take these funds and that’s it. The credit union, of course, has the opposite opinion. The circumstances of this story are confusing with many unknowns and many suspicious details. For example, why take out a loan to renovate a house for sale if the family never intended to sell it? Or where did the borrower get a second passport? Who is right and who is to blame – the police will find out, since the one who borrowed is unlikely to tell: he died in March of this year. And journalists, financiers and human rights activists are now trying to find the end of this story on their own.

The first position is the family

The family of the borrower – Viktor Tsyba – is convinced: this loan is nothing more than fiction and fraud. At least, this is exactly the opinion expressed by his widow, Mrs. Valentina. And here is what she told. In early April, a very strange letter was received in the name of her late husband (who died on March 12, 2013). It reported in these office letters that the woman’s husband owed the credit union. And he owed as much as 158 thousand hryvnias. Interestingly, the agreement was finalized last February. And in the letter, the credit union warned that if the debtor does not repay the debt within 10 days, this amount will be collected from him in court. Valentina Tsyba endlessly wipes away tears:

– Well, where did that loan come from on our heads? We didn’t take it! As soon as I received my husband’s death certificate, I immediately took it and went to this institution. In the union called “My Family” the shocked woman was told the following – the loan agreement was drawn up according to all the rules back on February 22, 2012. And the “body” of the loan – 94 thousand hryvnias – was given to her husband – Viktor Volodymyrovych. He undertook to repay the debt according to the appropriate schedule. Due to the fact that the terms of the agreement were violated, a large amount of interest accumulated over the past period. In general, according to data as of April 10, 2013, the total amount of debt amounted to 158 thousand 556 hryvnias 9 kopecks.

The man had a mental illness

The widow continues:

– My Viktor could not have taken out this loan, because since 2008, by a resolution of the Desnyansky District Court, he was recognized as…incompetent.

Even in his youth, Viktor contracted a serious nervous system disease, which later developed into atrophy of the cerebral cortex. A tall man – up to 2 meters tall – over the years he turned into a frail creature, whom even a child could offend. His certificate of disability of the first group even contains a note that he needed care and supervision.

That is why the Desnyanskyi District Court ruled on November 24, 2008: “According to the outpatient forensic psychiatric examination conducted by the court, Viktor Volodymyrovych Tsyba has clinical signs of organic dementia, which deprive him of the ability to understand the meaning of his actions and manage them.”

For the same reasons, the court appointed a guardian for the mentally ill person – his wife Valentina. Having asked the employee of the credit union “My Family” to show her a folder with documents on her husband’s loan, the widow clapped her hands:

– I look at the photocopy of the passport, and there is a completely different number, the series is not the same as in Vita’s passport, which is in the safe at home. In addition, the document does not even mention his marital status! They made him a bachelor!

Valentina Vasylivna wanted to photocopy the loan agreement, but she was refused – she has no right to do so. – I asked, on the basis of which document was my husband given such a huge amount of money? The employee of the financial institution was leafing through papers in the document folder and found a certificate from the Pension Fund about the size of Vita’s pension … 900 and something hryvnias. And for this pitiful pension he had to repay almost 100 thousand in debt? Delusion!

The husband was brought into the union by … a guarantor

Valentina Vasylivna is confused – why did she find out about the loan only now, if the agreement was concluded last year? Why didn’t anyone send any messages to their home?

– The union told me this: there were notifications about overdue payments, but they were sent to the guarantor’s address, not the main debtor’s. The guarantor is a 40-year-old man who allegedly brought my husband with him. The union employee told me that there was a short man with the guarantor. I objected: my Vitya is very tall! Up to 2 meters! The employee immediately got scared. And she asked – only without a fuss. After all, the guarantor is ready to pay off the entire loan with interest, but without a scandal. And I don’t believe it!

Prerequisites

Valentyna Tsyba sees the reason for this and other troubles of her family in human envy. After all, the story with the credit union is not the first swallow.

– A few years ago, they already tried to profit from her husband’s illness. He was kidnapped, he was abused. So much so that my son and I even put Vitya on the wanted list. Fortunately, he was quickly found.

Later it turned out that Viktor was kidnapped so that he would sign a power of attorney in the name of a businessman. The pensioner explains: that was why they wanted to take possession of the family house and the large land plot next to it. During the three days that Viktor was with the kidnappers, they made him a temporary passport and submitted documents for the main identity card. Ms. Valentyna found out about all this by accident.

– When they found my husband, I didn’t let him go even a step away from me. Then suddenly people started contacting us asking to sell the house. I was scared.

Sensing that something was wrong, the woman and her husband went to the passport office.

– I asked the girls there: “My disabled husband has submitted documents for a passport and does not know when to come and get it.” And the employee looked at him and said: “Yes, this man has already been to us. But not alone. There were two more suspicious men with him.” I simply persuaded the girls to give me Vita’s passport. The employees also told me this: these men were supposed to come for the passport in a day or two. But, fortunately, it was not so. I decided to check all my guesses. I went to the BTI. I wrote a statement there that no paper should be given a go without me. But these thieves managed to get there too! The BTI employees reported that all the documentation for the house was ready and was about to be issued. Based on the temporary passport, private notary Slidovsky made these bandits a general power of attorney, with which they came to draw up a technical passport for real estate.

The fact that the husband’s name and documents also appeared in the story with the credit union – the widow sees the consequences of that several years ago.

– Apparently, the passport office employees are also somehow involved in the credit fraud, – thinks Ms. Valentina.

She is preparing her defense. Together with human rights activist Viktor Tarasov, she wrote a statement to the police.

The position of the friend – the credit union

The credit union readily responded to the request to comment on this story from its side. The head of the board, Olena Makoviy, said that this situation also worries her quite a lot.

– This is the first such case in the almost ten-year history of the existence of “My Family”. We also want this problem to be resolved as soon as possible. And we will do everything in our power to do this. Yes, we had a client like Viktor Tsyba. Yes, he signed a loan agreement. He approached us himself. He said that he needed a loan to renovate his house and sell it as profitably as possible. Everything was legal. In addition, Viktor Tsyba’s solvency was supported not only by a certificate from the Pension Fund. There were other documents that indicated that his total income allowed him to repay such a loan. Viktor Tsyba was in my office, sitting on this very chair. And he gave the impression of an ordinary quiet pensioner, of whom there are thousands in Chernihiv.

As for his height, it is difficult for Olena Makova to judge, since she herself is a tall woman. And stately men over 1.80 m tall seem short to her. In addition, the pensioner was sitting all the time, and therefore visually his height seems smaller. Neither he nor his guarantor said a word about the client having a family. They also kept quiet about Viktor Tsyba’s diagnosis.

– Viktor Tsyba met the credit union membership criteria, that is, he lived in Chernihiv. In confirmation of this, he provided all the necessary documents. But he did not show any papers about his incapacity. This is a voluntary matter – to mark in our questionnaire whether the client is capable or not. He did not mark this. In addition, no credit union has a register of incapacitated citizens. And it is a pity. This would have helped a lot, in particular, to avoid this problem. Today we are trying to establish normal relations with law enforcement agencies within the legal framework. However, without much success. But I do not lose hope.

Wife did not confirm her status

The widow’s agreement to meet the credit union would have significantly helped to move this case from a dead place. But the pensioner does not want to do this, Olena Makova is convinced.

– She did not allow us to photocopy at least her husband’s death certificate in her presence. In addition, she did not prove her status as Viktor Tsyba’s wife. How do I know that she is really a wife, and not just pretending to be one? She did not show any documents. She did not confirm that she is Viktor Tsyba’s heiress. These are just empty words that have no documentary confirmation. And without documents, we cannot move forward in any way!

Olena Makova also explained how such a large amount of debt appeared.

– Our effective interest rate is 32% per annum. The payment schedule is calculated programmatically. But the debt amount is not always paid monthly. For example, it happens that a farmer comes to us. He takes a loan and if he knows that he will not receive a harvest by September, then we start the payment schedule for him from the fall. If the payment is delayed, a penalty is added to the principal amount. In the case of Viktor Tsyba, there were no missed payments until spring. I don’t know who went and paid the debt on his behalf. Because we can deposit funds not only at the cash desk in the office, but also non-cash – to our current account.

In addition, as soon as the credit union informed the guarantor that the main debtor had died, he did not refuse his obligations. Olena Makova is sure that the matter is quite possible to settle. In addition, the guarantor recently paid some part of the debt.

Viktor Tarasov, head of the Center for Legal Information and Consultations, which operates on the basis of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation:

– Together with Valentina Tsyba, we appealed to law enforcement agencies regarding fraudulent actions by the credit union or the individuals behind this story. I do not exclude the possibility that the financial institution was also misled. However, only law enforcement agencies will be able to give a more accurate legal assessment of its actions. As for the prevention of such cases, this is an individual matter. However, before taking a loan, especially a large one, think several times. Check the institution – ask your friends, acquaintances, or specialized financial institutions about it. Or at least type its name in a search engine on the Internet. If there were any precedents, it will certainly pop up. Carefully read everything you sign. Do not give the originals of personal documents to strangers. Do not leave them unattended for a long time. And even if your closest friend asks you to vouch for him in a loan agreement – again, think about it, because it may happen that later you will have to repay someone else’s debt.

Serhiy Bryl, Head of the Public Relations Sector of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Chernihiv Region:

– This is not the first time that law enforcement officers in the region have encountered offenses in the field of credit unions. As for this case – is the union guilty or not – we will figure it out. The statement of citizen Tsyba V.V. has been registered. Criminal proceedings have been opened under Article 358 – forgery of documents. That is, it is not excluded that this loan agreement was drawn up on the basis of forged documents. An investigation is underway.