Prosecutor's office to investigate whether the case of NBU chief lawyer Zyma was legally closed

The procedural prosecutor plans to ascertain the legality of closing the criminal proceedings against Oleksandr Zyma, director of the legal department of the National Bank of Ukraine. This was reported by the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office in response to an inquiry from UNN.

Context

The Investigative Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv, in response to an inquiry from UNN, confirmed that the investigator had closed the criminal proceedings regarding the alleged abuse of power or official position by Oleksandr Zyma, which caused grave consequences. The case was closed due to the alleged absence of elements of a criminal offense in his actions. Olena Sosedka, co-founder of Concord Bank, who was recognized as a victim in this case, told UNN in a comment that she plans to appeal the investigator's decision to close the criminal proceedings.

Details

Currently, the materials of criminal proceedings No. 62023100110000229 have not been received by the prosecutor's office. The question of the legality of the investigator's decision and the need to cancel it will be resolved after the procedural prosecutor examines the materials of the criminal proceedings.

Procedural guidance in this criminal proceeding is carried out by the Pechersk District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv.

Recall

The criminal case against the chief lawyer of the NBU was opened by the State Bureau of Investigation at the end of 2023 due to alleged abuse of power or official position, which caused grave consequences. Zyma, who is also the head of the administrative board of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, interfered in court proceedings by sending a letter from the National Bank of Ukraine to the Fund. In the letter, he "recommended" withdrawing lawsuits filed against the National Bank. It is worth noting that the chief lawyer of the regulator asked to withdraw lawsuits of Concord Bank, filed even before the start of its liquidation process. The plaintiff in court planned to appeal fines totaling almost 63.5 million hryvnias imposed by the regulator.

The Fund followed this recommendation, which, according to the co-owner of the bank, Olena Sosedka, deprived shareholders of their constitutional right to a fair trial.

Later, the investigation of the criminal proceedings was transferred to the Pechersk Police Department in Kyiv, whose investigators recognized the co-founders of "Concord" Olena and Yulia Sosedka as victims. According to lawyers, the investigation thus confirmed that Oleksandr Zyma's actions caused real significant damage to the bank's shareholders.

The police, in response to an inquiry from UNN, reported that during the investigation, they plan to interrogate the chief lawyer of the National Bank, after which they will consider the possibility of applying to the court for his suspension from office.

Experts interviewed by UNN pointed to signs of artificial delay in the investigation of this case.

The pace of the investigation also did not suit the Pechersk District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv. "The procedural prosecutor sent instructions to the Pechersk Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv to intensify the pre-trial investigation," the department told UNN in response to an inquiry.

In addition, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv also, by two rulings, obliged investigators to intensify the investigation of the aforementioned criminal proceedings.