An Austrian court has refused to extradite former National Bank of Ukraine head Kyrylo Shevchenko to Ukraine, where he is suspected of involvement in the loss of more than 200 million hryvnias at Ukrgasbank. He had previously sought asylum in the European country, claiming that the case against him was politically motivated.
According to Shevchenko, the Ukrainian authorities are persecuting him because of his "unwavering struggle" as head of the National Bank, as he refused to issue the hryvnia and lower the discount rate in the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion.
In a comment to Der Standard, Shevchenko noted that if he returns to Ukraine, he has no hope for a fair trial, recalling that all of his defense motions – over 50 applications – were rejected by the court.
“Kyrylo Shevchenko is counting on the justice of the Austrian authorities, given the obvious violations of his rights to a fair trial and the report of the non-governmental organization 'Kharkiv Human Rights Group', which published evidence of political persecution in his case,” the publication adds.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau has suspected Kyrylo Shevchenko of embezzling Ukrgasbank funds. Recall that he left Ukraine while he was still the head of the National Bank. According to the report, at the end of October 2022, NABU put three officials of Ukrgasbank on the wanted list, including Shevchenko. According to the investigation, in his previous status as first deputy, and then chairman of the board of Ukrgasbank, he had information about banking service agreements concluded with large clients and used it to embezzle money. Law enforcement officials claim that for this purpose, bank employees ensured the conclusion of fictitious agreements with individuals and legal entities who allegedly were “agents” of the bank and attracted large clients to it. For such “agent services”, the bank illegally paid “remuneration” to these people every month.
