Anti-corruption investigators search Ukraine's central bank on October 21; Pyshny denies wrongdoing
Key Facts
Investigators from Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau searched the central bank's headquarters and the home of one of its employees, under the supervision of anti-corruption prosecutors, in proceedings that a security source said targeted premises linked to Governor Andriy Pyshny on October 21. The Kyiv Post reported the bureau's confirmation that authorised searches had been conducted inside the central bank building and at the employee's residence. The Kyiv Independent cited the security source as linking the premises searched to Pyshny. The bureau said, according to Reuters, that no one was detained during the searches and no notice of suspicion was issued. The governor, for his part, denied that the proceedings had uncovered wrongdoing by him or the institution's employees. "Nothing was found that could indicate wrongdoing by me or any central bank employee," Pyshny said in remarks reported by Reuters.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak raised the possibility that the searches were linked to state-owned Sense Bank and the Karpatnaftokhim complex, citing his sources, according to financial website Minfin. The lawmaker said the proceedings "may be linked to cases surrounding the Karpatnaftokhim plant and state-owned Sense Bank". In the background to the cases involving the bank, the anti-corruption bureau announced suspected laundering of 150 million Ukrainian hryvnias in cash in its investigation into operations "Forrest Gump" and "Femida". According to the bureau's account, the money passed through shell company accounts to fund bail for a participant in the "Midas" case. The bureau put the number of suspects in that earlier investigation at 12. Its published list includes the chairman of Sense Bank's supervisory board and the chairman of its management board, as well as the head of the bank's financial monitoring department.
Sense Bank had previously confirmed, in a statement on proceedings at its headquarters on August 19, that law enforcement representatives had carried out investigative activities involving specific individuals. In another statement, the bank announced the temporary suspension of the head of its financial monitoring department, including from performing his duties during the suspension. It added that the employee was blocked from accessing the institution's network and any of the bank's systems throughout that period. The bank is state-owned, with ownership transferred to the state under an agreement to purchase 100% of its shares, according to the bank's announcement of the transaction. The ownership transfer announcement described Sense as a systemically important bank. These earlier proceedings and investigations form the backdrop for a state-owned bank that also said it was continuing preparations to be put up for sale under the privatisation process set out by the state.
On the institutional framework, the International Monetary Fund said in its Ukraine review statement published in June 2026 that central bank independence was "a cornerstone of maintaining economic and financial stability". Ukraine's policy memorandum, published among the Fund's programme documents in February 2026, also included a commitment to safeguard the independence and operational autonomy of key institutions tasked with enforcing anti-corruption measures. The memorandum linked this commitment to combating high-level corruption, while stipulating that those institutions' independence and ability to carry out their mandates be preserved. As part of governance reforms at state-owned enterprises and banks, the Fund's June 2026 review statement identified stronger supervisory boards among the required reforms. Governance requirements also included completing merit-based management appointments, according to the same statement. On Sense's future ownership, the bank said its continuing preparations were aimed at readiness for an open and competitive sale process.