NBU takes up Monobank case after client's data disclosure - Pyshnyi announced when results will be available
Kyiv • UNN
Andriy Pyshnyi announced the analysis of fintech documents regarding the incident with the client's photo. The National Bank has six months to make an official decision.
The National Bank has started checking all documents received from the fintech Monobank regarding the case of disclosing a client's private data. This was announced by NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi during his speech in parliament on March 26, UNN reports.
Details
It is about the fact that on March 9, the co-founder of the fintech Monobank published a post on his personal page on the social network Threads. It was dedicated to a situation that happened with one of Monobank's clients. The girl passed verification against the background of a flag similar to the Russian one, after which the operator refused to solve her problem. Oleh Horokhovskyi dedicated a post to this. He illustrated it with a photo of the client, which she took for verification.
Earlier, on March 25, the parliament, at the initiative of MP Oleksiy Honcharenko from "European Solidarity", decided to summon Andriy Pyshnyi to explain the incident with Monobank.
The head of the National Bank explained: at this very moment, a large package of documents that the national financial regulator received from Monobank in response to the request is being analyzed.
For some time, the bank prepared the relevant materials, provided a response to the request, and provided a huge number of documents, because regulatory action, supervisory action requires a very thorough investigation.
In addition, the recent expertise conducted at the initiative of Monobank was also taken into account. According to Pyshnyi, it confirmed that the flag against which the client took a photo to confirm her identity was Russian.
We took into account important information that the state expertise confirmed the fact that it is, after all, about the flag of the Russian Federation. These things will be investigated. For now, this fact has simply been taken into account.
It should be noted that lawyer and partner of VB Partners Denys Shkarovskyi, who represents the interests of Universal Bank, on the basis of which Monobank operates, also confirmed the fact that the expertise took place, and its result was the corresponding conclusion.
What the NBU will do and what results to expect from it
Pyshnyi explained: when the NBU studies all the received materials, it will eventually form a certificate containing the regulator's official attitude to the incident - the so-called "judgment".
Further, in the process of administrative proceedings, in accordance with all necessary regulations and procedures, the Board of the National Bank will consider this incident and make an appropriate decision.
According to the regulations, the National Bank has six months for this procedure.
Immediately after the National Bank makes the relevant decisions, as defined by law, we will certainly inform both the public and people's deputies, all interested parties, about the decisions made.
He immediately warned the parliamentarians that this was all the information he could make public. After all, the investigation itself concerns the issue of banking secrecy and is related to sensitive and confidential data.
"Horokhovskyi and Monobank case": what else the NBU head said
Andriy Pyshnyi calls a number of posts by Oleh Horokhovskyi, dedicated to the situation with the client, an emotional reaction to the flag of the aggressor state.
We witnessed a rather emotional, perhaps even too emotional, reaction to the Russian tricolor. I am convinced that there is not a single person in this hall who would not support a negative reaction to the Russian flag.
At the same time, Pyshnyi admitted: any negative reaction, even to the Russian tricolor, must be within the framework of current legislation.
And this is exactly what the National Bank is investigating. The protection of banking secrecy is guaranteed by law, and banks are guarantors of its preservation.
Why Pyshnyi faced criticism from MPs in the Rada
It should be noted that Andriy Pyshnyi's balanced position was criticized by MP Maksym Buzhanskyi.
He (the head of the NBU, - ed.) certainly has his own position, the position of the National Bank. But when a bank client's personal data ends up in the public space, and something still needs to be clarified for half a year to find out whether the procedure was violated or not. It seems to me that all of us together will need to work on strengthening banking secrecy, on strengthening the protection of personal data, on strengthening registers.
He reminded that the modernization of the personal data protection procedure and its observance is one of the key requirements for Ukraine on its way to the EU.
Buzhanskyi emphasized: this aspect was even dedicated to bill №10242 (this is the "Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the establishment of criminal liability for unauthorized interference, sale or distribution of information processed in public electronic registers, and strengthening criminal liability during martial law for criminal offenses in the field of using information and communication systems", submitted to parliament in November 2023).
The document was adopted in the first reading, but failed in the second.
Scandal around "Monobank" and Oleh Horokhovskyi: what you need to know
On March 9, Monobank co-founder published a post on his Threads social media page about a situation that happened with one of the bank's clients.
The girl, who had moved to Slovenia, had her bank card blocked. She contacted the bank's support, where she was told to undergo video verification. The client took a picture against a wall where a flag resembling the Russian tricolor was hanging. This fact seemed sufficient to the support service operator to refuse the girl service.
Horokhovskyi illustrated the post with a photo of the client, which she took for verification, and criticized the Ukrainian woman not only for her alleged loyalty to Russia, but also for her appearance.
The client contacted video verification with a question about why her account was blocked. They said it was because her head was unwashed.
The Monobank client herself reacted to him. The Ukrainian woman was outraged by the disclosure of her personal data; she explained that the flag of Slovenia, not Russia, was hanging on the wall; and also noted that her stepfather is a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and neither she nor her relatives have any relation to the aggressor state.
This person, without understanding the situation, allowed herself to expose me to public view. I do not support the aggressor country in any way. My whole family is fighting. I was born in Ukraine and I love it.
After that, Monobank and Horokhovskyi personally faced a barrage of criticism from Ukrainians. People reproached the fintech co-founder for disclosing banking secrecy, violating banking service rules, and hating on appearance.
MP Oleksiy Honcharenko, who later initiated the summoning of the head of the National Bank to parliament to give explanations in the "Horokhovskyi case", spoke particularly harshly on this topic.
Regarding Horokhovskyi and the publication of the girl's photo. Bankers appeared who had banking secrecy, and respect for people, and for the state in one place. I strongly advise Mr. Horokhovskyi to publicly apologize and return the bank's communications to collecting lemons. The National Police and the NBU must react immediately to this situation. If not, we will use the parliamentary powers I have.
Horokhovskyi, in turn, was unyielding in his convictions. In a new post, the financier noted:
I see posts from some "concerned" citizens regarding the protection of personal data in a photo with a flag. I answer: supporters of the "Russian world" in Ukraine will not have any protection of personal data. After 12 years of war, we cannot guarantee any data protection to collaborators. If you love Russia, avoid us by a long shot.
It should be noted that after this, Ukrainians indeed began to refuse service at Monobank. Some did so for ideological reasons, but most were concerned about the security of their personal data.