Ukrainian Central Banker Probed for ‘Treason,’ Kyiv Post Says

(Bloomberg) -- A Ukrainian central banker is facing potential treason and embezzlement charges over the 2014 nationalization of the country’s biggest lender, the Kyiv Post said, citing documents and people it didn’t identify.

First Deputy Governor Kateryna Rozhkova and other staff members are being investigated for sharing information with companies including Kroll Inc., which helped look into a $5.5 billion fraud at Privatbank before the government took it over, the newspaper reported late Thursday.

The case involving Rozhkova was “revived” by central bank Governor Volodymyr Zelenskiy or someone in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, the Kyiv Post said.

Shevchenko, who was appointed last year by Zelenskiy, has fallen out publicly with Rozhkova -- one of two remaining deputies who worked under his predecessor. That’s sparked concern among Western donors over the institution’s independence.

Rozhkova told Bloomberg that she’s “astonished” to hear of the probe.

“This investigation, if true, looks both odd and inconsistent, as it’s clear the Privatbank case is crucial for the country,” she said by phone. “The reason for this probe is to discredit our work.”

President ‘Concerned’

The central bank and the Prosecutor General’s Office weren’t able to comment immediately.

Zelenskiy’s press service told Bloomberg that the president’s office is “concerned about the internal fights” at the central bank but “doesn’t interfere or put pressure on” the bank or on law enforcement.

The tycoons who previously owned Privatbank are fighting legal efforts by the government to recoup bail-out cash from them. One, a former supporter and business partner of Zelenskiy, was banned last week from entering the U.S.

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