Police confirm investigation into possible abuse of power by NBU chief lawyer

The Police Department of the Pechersk District of Kyiv confirmed that they are investigating criminal proceedings over possible abuse of office by Oleksandr Zyma, director of the Legal Department of the National Bank of Ukraine. This is stated in the response of law enforcement officers to the request of UNN.

"In accordance with Article 216 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the decision to transfer criminal proceedings to another body under the jurisdiction of another body is made exclusively by the prosecutor in criminal proceedings. Therefore, based on the results of the examination of the criminal proceedings, the prosecutor's office decided to transfer the criminal proceedings to another body, namely the Pechersk Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv," the law enforcement officers said in their response.

Recall

In late December 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal investigation into possible abuse of office by the NBU's chief lawyer. The case concerns a letter from the National Bank to the Deposit Guarantee Fund signed by Zyma, in which he recommended that the Fund withdraw the lawsuits filed by Concord Bank against the NBU. The document referred to four lawsuits filed by the bank against the NBU, in which Concorde demanded that fines totaling almost UAH 63.5 million be canceled. They were filed even before the National Bank decided to liquidate Concorde and put it under temporary administration.  It is worth noting that Zyma, in addition to the legal department of the National Bank, also heads the Administrative Council of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

According to Concorde co-owner Olena Sosiedka, Zima's instructions deprived the bank's shareholders of their constitutional right to a fair trial. 

After more than 9 months, SBI investigators transferred the case of the National Bank's chief lawyer to the Police Department in the Pechersk district of Kyiv. According to Yulia Sosedka, co-owner of Concorde, law enforcement officers are trying to delay the investigation. At the same time, the investigators have not complied with the court decision to recognize Yulia Sosedka as a victim in the criminal proceedings.

Add

Earlier, security expert Serhiy Shabovta noted in a commentary to UNN that Zyma has a patronand therefore feels impunity. According to him, the National Bank's chief lawyer, Oleksandr Zyma, is a person close to NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi. That is why he is confident that he will not be prosecuted under the current legislation for his violations.