Corruption is an Incurable Disease in Ukraine: Expert on the Case of Zyma, Director of the NBU Legal Department

The director of the National Bank's legal department, Oleksandr Zyma, should be suspended from his duties while the criminal proceedings against him are investigated. The case is about Zyma's alleged abuse of power or office, which led to serious consequences. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by security expert Serhiy Shabovta.

Today, our state is completely eaten up by corruption. And the fact is that those officials who are working on their tasks in this "area" are protected by any means necessary. I am convinced that once the proceedings have been opened, once certain circumstances of the crimes have been proven - that is, there are victims - against this background, of course, the official should be removed from office. And believe me, there are more than enough procedural rules for this

According to him, influential people may help officials avoid criminal liability. In particular, in the case of Zyma, it may be the leadership of the National Bank, which is also likely to be an accomplice and organizer of the violations.

"Corruption is still an incurable disease of Ukraine that eats it up like gangrene, and no one has taken any decisive actions or decisions yet... such officials (like Zyma - ed.) should be removed from their positions at least for the duration of the investigation and dismissed upon proof of guilt in court and completion of the case," Shabovta emphasized.

Recall

Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv has recognized Yulia Sosiedka, co-founder of Concord Bank, as a victim in criminal proceedings over alleged abuse of power or office that led to grave consequences, according to Oleksandr Zyma, director of the legal department of the National Bank of Ukraine.

As reported by UNN, the criminal case concerns a letter from the National Bank of Ukraine to the Deposit Guarantee Fund signed by Oleksandr Zyma, in which he recommended that the Fund withdraw the lawsuits filed by Concord against the NBU.  The document referred to four lawsuits filed by Concorde Bank against the NBU, in which the bank demanded the cancellation of fines totaling almost UAH 63.5 million. These lawsuits were filed even before the National Bank decided to liquidate Concorde and put it under temporary administration.

Olena Sosiedka, co-founder of JSCB Concorde, stated that the National Bank of Ukraine ignored the proposals of the shareholders of Concorde Bank before its liquidation, and then, on the instructions of the regulator, they were deprived of the right to a fair trial.