The Prosecutor General’s Office on March 19 confirmed that the State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the National Bank of Ukraine staff for embezzlement and abuse of office but could not confirm any treason charges.
The Kyiv Post on March 18 revealed a pending criminal investigation against the central bank’s first deputy governor, Kateryna Rozhkova and other staffers.
According to a leaked document from the Prosecutor General’s office and the Kyiv Post’s sources, Rozhkova and some of her colleagues face charges of treason and embezzlement just for working with foreign consultants to investigate, then nationalize PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest financial institution, after an audit revealed a $5.5 billion shortfall in its books.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, it is investigating NBU employees, including the leadership for alleged embezzlement of Hr 900 million by hiring companies at inflated prices.
These companies — forensic firm Kroll Inc., consulting firm AlixPartners and law firms HoganLovells and Asters were officially hired by Ukraine to help investigate or nationalize PrivatBank or help build PrivatBank’s legal case against former owner Ihor Kolomoisky in the High Court of London.
The investigation against Rozhkova and other staffers started on Dec. 31, 2020, prompted by a complaint by a nonprofit organization, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Sources told the Kyiv Post that the on-and-off investigation into Rozhkova and her colleagues was recently revived by NBU governor Kyrylo Shevchenko or someone in Zelensky’s office.
Multiple observers see this as an attack against Rozhkova or PrivatBank’s 2016 nationalization.
Zelensky’s office released a statement in response to the media stir surrounding the Kyiv Post’s article, telling the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to “put personal ambitions aside and work towards one goal — Ukraine’s macroeconomic stability.”
“Even though the president cannot and will not intervene in any ongoing investigation, we call on all officials to act exclusively in the interests of Ukraine and not pursue any personal interests when fulfilling their duties,” the president’s office stated.
“With the support of Ukraine’s western partners, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office will continue to do everything necessary to return money that was stolen from the Ukrainian population, including money related to PrivatBank.”
The International Monetary Fund keenly watches the NBU. The central bank’s continued independence is one of the Fund’s key conditions to continue lending money to Ukraine and the president’s office does not want to scare it off.
The IMF has recently stated that Ukraine needs to do more before it can receive its next $700 million tranche.
In her own Facebook comment on March 19, Rozhkova reiterated that she was unaware of the latest pending charges. But she said the NBU has internally investigated “our cooperation with Kroll and legal advisers. The purpose of this cooperation was to protect the state’s interests.”
“I am convinced that such actions deal a powerful blow to Ukraine’s reputation and image in the international arena,” she wrote. “After all, today the attention of our international partners is focused on our investigation of fraud in PrivatBank.”
Rozhkova has butted heads with Shevchenko multiple times since he became the new NBU governor in July. Shevchenko has repeatedly tried to stop her and deputy governor Dmytro Sologub from talking to the media and the bank’s former employees have complained of pressure that caused some of them to resign.
In an emailed statement, NBU’s press service told the Kyiv Post that it remains committed to PrivatBank’s nationalization and bringing fraudsters to justice.
