Ukraine anti-corruption agencies search locations linked to central bank chief Andriy Pyshnyi as Sense Bank case widens

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) are carrying out investigative actions at addresses connected to National Bank chief Andriy Pyshnyi, according to TASS. For payment and banking operators, the important part is not the optics but the fact pattern: the case is tied to allegations around state-owned Sense Bank and alleged money laundering through a major banking institution.

1. NABU and SAP are conducting searches at locations linked to Andriy Pyshnyi, the head of Ukraine’s National Bank. TASS said the reason for the investigators’ visit was not specified.
2. TASS also reported that a criminal case has already been opened against Pyshnyi in Ukraine. He is suspected of giving false testimony to a temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada in the Sense Bank case.
3. According to NABU and SAP, Sense Bank was used for money laundering. TASS said the alleged criminal group included Verkhovna Rada member Vadym Stolar, former deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office Iryna Mudra, legal affairs director of the office Viktor Dubovyk, former MP Maksym Mykytas, Sense Bank board chairman Oleksii Stupak, and supervisory board head Mykola Hladyshchenko.
4. The investigation led to dismissals at the bank and its sale, TASS reported. In parliament, lawmakers also called for Pyshnyi’s resignation, although some deputies said he could not have known about the alleged money laundering scheme through Sense Bank.