The case of Zyma. Experts tell us what makes the case of abuse at the National Bank special

The State Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal case over possible abuse of power and office by Oleksandr Zyma, director of the legal department of the National Bank of Ukraine. Experts interviewed by UNN say that the official's actions may negatively affect the image of our country in the international arena. 

Details

According to the official announcement of the NBU, Zyma was appointed by the Board of the National Bank on December 5, 2022.

Since 2001, Oleksandr Zyma has been working at Oschadbank, just like the current governor of the NBU, Andriy Pyshnyi. During his time there, Zyma rose through the ranks from general counsel to head of the legal department.

He has a law degree and, according to the National Bank, has been working in the field of law for over 22 years.

Currently, Oleksandr Zyma is also the chairman of the administrative board of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, which appoints and dismisses the Fund's managing director.

UNN learned from its own sources that the State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal case on the fact of possible abuse of power or official position, which led to serious consequences (part 2 of article 364 of the Criminal Code) by Oleksandr Zyma. The criminal case concerns a letter from the National Bank of Ukraine to the Deposit Guarantee Fund signed by Oleksandr Zyma. 

In a letter available to UNN, the director of the NBU's legal department recommended that the Deposit Guarantee Fund withdraw four lawsuits filed by Concord Bank against the National Bank of Ukraine.

Even before the decision to liquidate the bank was made, representatives of the bank filed lawsuits with the court demanding that the fines imposed by the National Bank totaling almost UAH 63.5 million be canceled. The court did not have time to consider them before Concorde was taken over by the DGF and a temporary administration was introduced. Therefore, further support of claims in courts had to be provided by the Fund's representatives.

In the letter, Zyma stated that supporting court cases challenging the NBU's decisions was allegedly "not the purpose of the Fund's activities.

The editorial board of UNN asked the State Bureau of Investigation for official confirmation of the information about the opening of a criminal case involving Oleksandr Zyma. However, after the expiration of the statutory deadline for a response, the SBI replied that they needed an additional 20 days to prepare a response, and in case of disagreement with this decision, they offered to sue them.

It is worth noting that the DGF has implemented the recommendations received from the National Bank of Ukraine and withdrawn the claims.

According to lawyer Stanislav Batryn, the legal department of the National Bank of Ukraine did not have the authority to write the letter with the DGF's recommendations. Therefore, the actions of the director of the department, Oleksandr Zyma, are seen as illegal interference  in the work of the Fund.

"The actions of the National Bank's legal department go beyond the current substantive and procedural legislation. The available letter does not contain a reference to the regulatory framework that would authorize the head of the department to behave in this way," Batryn said in a commentary to UNN.

At the same time, he believes that the letter from the National Bank signed by Zyma to the DGF cannot be advisory. Batryn explained that recommendations can only be made by a person who has the necessary competence to do so. 

"Summing up, I see in such actions signs of interference that is not based on the law, which contradicts Article 19 of the Constitution of Ukraine," the lawyer said.

Moreover, with his letter and recommendation to withdraw the claims, Oleksandr Zyma violated the right of the bank's owners to a fair trial guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine, human rights activist Eduard Bagirov believes.

"Zima, with his recommendations and the withdrawn lawsuit, violated the rights of Ukrainian citizens and the bank to a fair trial. Only during the trial and after examining the arguments of the parties can the court  make a fair decision. When the decision is made in the office of an official, it is not right," Bagirov said in a comment to UNN.

He added that he was 99% sure that Zyma had committed a malfeasance and should be punished for it.

"Therefore, a letter from the head of a certain department of the NBU is an interference and a violation. However, if the SBI manages to collect the necessary evidence and this official is not only deprived of his position, but also of his freedom for violating the Criminal Code of Ukraine, it will be very good for millions of Ukrainian citizens who are waiting for justice, who are waiting for this state body - the Fund - to work within the framework of the laws and the Constitution. But it does not work within the legal framework. Therefore, if the SBI brings this case to the end, I personally, as a human rights activist, will send a letter of gratitude to the head of the SBI," Bagirov promised.

Experts suggest that Zyma, as an experienced lawyer, deliberately committed such illegal actions to conceal previous violations. According to Serhiy Lysenko, attorney at law and managing partner at GRACERS, it is possible that the NBU would have to answer in court for violations against Concorde Bank if the lawsuits had been filed.

"In this case, the NBU, if it committed violations (which are disputed in the lawsuits of Concord Bank - ed.), simply solved its problem in order not to prove its case in court, in one letter, in fact," Lysenko said in a commentary to UNN.

He also added that Zyma's letter indicates that the Deposit Guarantee Fund is being managed manually.

"It's exactly like that  - one legal entity manually manages another legal entity in its own interests. Just using the fact that they work in the same field, and someone is called a market regulator. But this does not mean that the DGF has to follow the instructions of an official of another legal entity. In fact, this is the case, and this letter does not contain any justification, except for the general article of the law on the DGF and its objectives," Lysenko said.

At the same time, one should not hope that Zyma will bear reputational responsibility for his actions, because, according to experts, the institute of business reputation in Ukraine is quite selective and is formed based on media assessments of officials' activities. At the same time, it is not customary to bring officials to criminal liability, because in the interests of the state, even "making mistakes" is acceptable from the point of view of the entire state.

"If we are talking about illegal actions in relation to, for example, business, criminal prosecution, illegal inspections, penalties, etc., it is not customary in our country to bring to justice or even initiate criminal proceedings," political observer Gennady Dubov noted in a commentary to UNN.

Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's armed aggression for two years now, and without international support it will be difficult to drive the enemy from its land. Therefore, the country's image in the international arena is currently very sensitive, and scandals involving abuse by Ukrainian officials have a negative impact on it.

"Of course, such scandals have an impact. They do not have a positive impact, because sometimes it is a signal not so much to our partner countries as to certain political forces, individual politicians who are quite skeptical about Ukraine and have some claims. And such facts seem to confirm their arguments that Ukraine cannot be dealt with," said political scientist Ihor Reiterovych in a commentary to UNN.

According to him, in order to reduce the negative impact on the image, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies should bring officials to justice. Then it will be evidence that work is being done, that it is not just a problem that we are hiding, but a problem that we are trying to solve.

"That is why if these stories end with detentions, criminal cases and bringing them to a conclusion, this can be used to show that the anti-corruption structure is actually working, that the authorities are working, that there are relevant detentions, etc.

 If we see stories about scandals that end in nothing, it certainly damages the image and gives individual politicians in the West the opportunity to speculate on this issue, to call Ukraine the most corrupt country, and so on. Therefore, we need to consider each individual story and prevent such stories from reaching the international level, or organize a very quick response in accordance with the current legislation, which will allow us to use it even to our advantage," he said.

The editorial board of UNN also asked for official comments from the NBU and the DGF regarding the actions of Oleksandr Zyma.