Criminal case opened against NBU governor Pyshny for giving false testimony to the Rada

Criminal proceedings were opened on September 24 against National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshny on charges of knowingly providing false testimony to the Verkhovna Rada’s temporary investigative commission on economic security matters.

The head of the TIC, Holos party MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, reported this citing sources.

The grounds for opening the case were contradictions between the testimony of Pyshny and the former chairman of the supervisory board of Sens Bank, Turkish financier Shevki Acuner. At the TIC session on September 10, Acuner stated that Pyshny personally recommended appointing Vasyl Veselyi to the position of “government relations specialist” to improve the bank’s communication with various state bodies.

Pyshny categorically denied Acuner’s words. After that, the TIC sent the Turkish financier a letter asking him to confirm or elaborate on his statements. In his reply, Acuner confirmed that Veselyi’s appointment had been made on Pyshny’s recommendation.

“In all the time the TIC has existed, we have for the first time a situation where there are two testimonies submitted to the TIC that directly contradict each other. That is precisely why we forwarded the materials and testimony received to the relevant law enforcement agencies — both regarding the matter of unlawful influence on the activities of a state bank and regarding the provision of false testimony to the TIC,” — Zheleznyak wrote.

Vasyl Veselyi appears in audio recordings related to the Timur Mindich case, in which he discusses appointing his people to the new board of Sens Bank. He was detained by the SBU in June.

Andriy Pyshny is considered a close associate of former head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak. Rumors about preparations for his resignation have been circulating in financial and political circles for several months.