Before being appointed Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in October 2022, Andrii Pyshnyi’s biography included six high-profile episodes that have still not received public explanations. Former Chairman of the NBU Council from 2016 to 2023 Bohdan Danylyshyn stated this in his blog, reports UNN.
All six episodes are united by one question: why did numerous scandals, questionable management decisions, and possible conflicts of interest not become an obstacle to Andrii Pyshnyi’s career?
The first episode concerns his education. On May 21, 2026, two 2007 rulings by the Zarichnyi District Court of Sumy appeared in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions concerning the forgery by employees of the Sumy branch of the University of Modern Knowledge of documents certifying the education of three individuals. Economist Borys Kushniruk claims that Pyshnyi was one of them and that these documents enabled him to enter the Ukrainian Academy of Banking directly into its fourth year. Pyshnyi’s surname is not mentioned in the anonymized rulings. Danylyshyn also refers to a ruling by the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, which ordered the State Bureau of Investigation to respond to a statement concerning the possible forgery of Pyshnyi’s educational documents.
The second episode concerns the Kreativ agricultural group, a major borrower from Oschadbank. In 2016, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine opened proceedings over the possible misappropriation of $20 million from the bank; in 2019, the group’s founder, former MP Stanislav Berezkin, was charged. Pyshnyi was not charged. At the peak of its development, Kreativ’s annual revenue exceeded $1 billion, and the company employed 3,200 people. According to Danylyshyn, Oschadbank, under Pyshnyi’s leadership, refused to restructure Kreativ’s debt and filed 23 lawsuits, after which some of the company’s assets passed to competitors. “All this very much resembled a raiding scheme,” he said.
The third episode concerns the financing of Kyiv’s Gulliver complex. The initial loan from Oschadbank and Ukreximbank in 2006 amounted to $61.6 million, while after a series of restructurings, the debt of Tri O LLC, whose ultimate owner is believed to be businessman Viktor Polishchuk, grew to $675 million by 2020. The restructurings in 2019–2020 took place during Pyshnyi’s tenure, and the repayment period was extended until 2044. It was only in July 2025 that the state-owned banks registered ownership of the complex.
The fourth episode concerns an 891.7-square-meter house near Kyiv registered in Pyshnyi’s daughter’s name. In 2024, OBOZ.UA reported that it was located next to a plot owned by Serhii Sliusarenko, co-owner of the collection company Ukrborh, which is supervised by the NBU. The regulator said it saw no conflict of interest and reminded the public of the fine imposed on Ukrborh. Danylyshyn also draws attention to ties with the Asters law firm, which worked with Oschadbank. At the same time, he acknowledges that owning expensive real estate in itself does not indicate an offense.
The fifth episode concerns a trip by Oschadbank’s management to the Europa League final in Warsaw in 2015. Pyshnyi, his wife, deputies, and members of the supervisory board flew by charter at a cost of UAH 459,000. The media reported that third-party companies were involved in paying for the trip. The Prosecutor General’s Office launched an inquiry, while the bank stated that the flight had been paid for with its own funds.
The sixth episode concerns an attempt in 2019 to extend Pyshnyi’s term as Chairman of Oschadbank’s Management Board for another five years without a competition. The NBU prevented this by refusing to approve five of the nine new members of the supervisory board. Danylyshyn links this to the position of the then NBU Governor Yakiv Smolii. In 2020, Pyshnyi declined to participate in the repeat competition.
Danylyshyn also mentions media reports about Pyshnyi’s close ties with former Head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak.
It should be recalled that on October 21, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office conducted searches at the NBU and at the residence of one of its employees. According to media reports, the investigative actions concerned Pyshnyi’s office and home. No one was detained, and no charges were served. Pyshnyi stated that the searches “do not concern the activities of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) or the official duties of the NBU Governor.” The National Bank denied reports of its Governor’s resignation.
Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak ("Holos") reported that the Verkhovna Rada may consider a resolution on the dismissal of Pyshnyi on November 12. As of November 3, there was no draft resolution on the parliament's website. According to Zheleznyak, at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pyshnyi refused to resign. Under the Constitution, the head of the NBU is dismissed by the Rada upon the president's submission.
In August, the resignation of Pyshnyi was demanded by the head of the Rada's Finance Committee, Danylo Hetmantsev ("Servant of the People"), after the NABU uncovered a money-laundering scheme through the state-owned Sense Bank. According to the investigation, a payment of UAH 150 million passed through the bank and was used as bail for former Energy and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko.