The ex-head of the National Bank, Kyrylo Shevchenko, rejects accusations of involvement in embezzlement at Ukrgasbank during his tenure as chairman of the board of this bank.
He wrote about it on Facebook.
"I didnʼt talk about the almost two-year political pressure that intensified on the eve of my decision and, in fact, led to a serious worsening of health problems. I was not a convenient head of the National Bank," Shevchenko said.
He added that the information about the announcement of suspicion came as a surprise to him. "I officially declare: the "discovered facts" voiced by law enforcement officers are the result of premature conclusions made on the basis of hasty and unsubstantiated judgments. I am ready to answer for each of my signatures!" — insists Shevchenko.
The ex-chairman of the National Bank emphasizes that during his administration, all financial operations of Ukrgasbank were confirmed by both foreign auditors and the State Audit Service.
Shevchenko also drew attention to the fact that the case in which suspicion was handed to him has been going on for more than three and a half years, but it has not been investigated all this time. "However, the very fact of the case was periodically used for reputational attacks on me. In this way, they tried, but to no avail, to sway me to decisions that I consider harmful to the financial stability of the state and a threat to the institutional independence of the NBU," the former head of the National Bank emphasized.
He noted that "there are other factors that directly indicate the extra-procedural nature of such persecution," and he is currently working on forming his own legal position on this issue.
- On October 4, Shevchenko resigned "for health reasons." The President approved this decision.
- Already on October 6, NABU informed Shevchenko of suspicion. The case concerns the period when he was the chairman of the board of Ukrgasbank. We are talking about the withdrawal scheme of 206 million hryvnias during 2014-2019.
- On the same day, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Shevchenko from the position of head of the National Bank.