NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi must resign — MP

Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zhelezniak ("Holos") stated that National Bank Governor Andrii Pyshnyi should submit his resignation himself. The statement was made on Wednesday, October 21, amid searches being conducted by NABU detectives at the National Bank premises, UNN reports.

"The fact that the head of the NBU will face suspicion relatively soon is not exactly a secret. There were at least two cases where this was actively discussed (if you followed the work of our Temporary Investigative Commission, you probably guessed). But the National Bank is a very important institution, where the dismissal procedure is currently designed to minimize any political influence and pressure. Therefore, the right thing now would be for NBU Governor Andrii Pyshnyi to submit his own resignation," the lawmaker said in his Telegram channel.

According to him, in that case the Verkhovna Rada would be able to consider the resignation as early as Monday, October 26.

Searches at the National Bank

The NBU confirmed that investigative actions were being conducted. In response to media inquiries, the regulator said that NABU detectives, under the procedural supervision of SAPO, were conducting searches at the premises of the National Bank and at the residence of one of its employees.

"No one has been detained, and no one has been notified of suspicion. The investigative actions were authorized and are being carried out in accordance with current legislation. Other details are not being disclosed in order to preserve the secrecy of the pre-trial investigation," the NBU statement said.

The National Bank added that it continued to operate normally and would provide additional explanations after the procedural actions were completed.

What is known about the grounds

According to media reports citing sources, the searches are related to two cases — the Karpatnaftokhim plant and the management of Sense Bank by outside individuals. According to the sources, Vasyl Veselyi is involved in both episodes; publication sources call him the "Bankova-appointed overseer." According to testimony from the former chair of Sense Bank's supervisory board, it was the NBU governor himself who brought him to the bank.

NABU and SAPO have not officially commented on this information.

Who will perform the duties

In the event of Pyshnyi's resignation, the duties of NBU governor will be performed by First Deputy Governor Serhii Nikolaichuk. He is also named as one of the candidates for the permanent position.

Background

The demand for Pyshnyi's resignation is not being voiced for the first time. In August of this year, it was put forward by Danylo Hetmantsev ("Servant of the People"), chair of the parliamentary Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy. The reason was a scandal surrounding a money-laundering scheme at Sense Bank, uncovered by NABU during Operation "Forrest Gump".