KIEV, July 30. /TASS/. Three companies have expressed readiness to acquire the shares of Prominsvetsbank (PIB), a Ukrainian subsidiary of Russia’s VEB.RF bank. This became known through the disclosure system of the National Security and Stock Market Commission, the Liga business portal reported on Tuesday.

"The companies that are interested in buying Prominvestbank are the Investitsionnoye Credit Institution controlled by Kiev resident Alexander Zinovyev, as well as the Geneva and the European Savings Society financial companies, which are associated with ex-head of Alfa Bank (Ukraine) Andrei Volkov," according to the statement.

Each of the three companies is poised to buy out the bank’s nearly 99.8% of the shares put up for auction, Liga reported.

It became known earlier that 99.726% of shares in Prominvestbank were offered for sale at an auction scheduled for August 28, 2019. The stake’s initial price is 532.1 million hryvnia ($20 mln).

Earlier this month, Russian state development corporation VEB.RF stated that auctioning off shares in subsidiary Prominvestbank (PIB) in Ukraine is illegal.

"VEB.RF views Ukraine’s actions of expropriation and offering of shares of subsidiary Prominvestbank at the auction as illegal. Actions of Ukraine will be appealed in Ukrainian courts of various instances and in international arbitration," the corporation reported.

The Russian corporation did not recommend that prospective buyers of PIB shares take part in "the illegal auction on expropriation of VEB property," Senior Vice President of VEB.RF Igor Krasnov said. Krasnov recommended applying directly to VEB with stock purchase proposals.

"VEB will consistently appeal against all illegal acts of the bailiff and will seek protection for its property either in courts of Ukraine or at the international level," Krasnov added.

In March 2016, Kiev imposed sanctions against banks with Russian state capital in Ukraine. Earlier, VEB.RF filed a lawsuit against Ukraine with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce regarding the operation of its Ukrainian subsidiary, Prominvestbank. The exact amount of the claim will be set by the appraisers.