Searches at the central bank

Investigators from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) searched the premises of the National Bank of Ukraine on Wednesday, 21 October, as well as the home of one of its employees. Ukrainska Pravda and The Kyiv Independent reported that the searches also reached the office and residence of Governor Andriy Pyshnyi, citing anonymous sources close to the investigation. Ukrainska Pravda's political sources said prosecutors were searching Pyshnyi's home. NABU did not name the person under investigation, and it is not clear whether Pyshnyi is a suspect. The National Bank confirmed the searches at its head office and said it continues to operate normally. Lawmakers Yaroslav Zhelezniak and Oleksiy Honcharenko had said on social media on 20 October that the searches included Pyshnyi's office, though no confirmation had yet come.

What NABU and the bank have said

NABU said in a statement on its Telegram channel that the searches were sanctioned and are being carried out in line with current law.

“No one has been detained, and no one has been notified of a suspicion.”

No arrest or suspicion has been announced, so no one can yet be described as a suspect in the case. The investigation is supervised by SAP, and NABU said it would not reveal more details while the pre-trial investigation continues. The National Bank said it will provide further explanations once the procedural actions are complete, while its operations continue as usual.

The Galushchenko money-laundering case

Ukrainska Pravda links the searches to an existing money-laundering case over funds allegedly intended to pay the bail of former energy minister German Galushchenko. Galushchenko is accused, together with two other former ministers, of taking part in an alleged scheme to pay commissions to private contractors of the state atomic energy company. That case caused a political storm last autumn because the main suspects were close to President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the investigators' version, 150 million hryvnia were laundered to pay the bail, and NABU and SAP ran an operation codenamed 'Forest Gump' in August 2026. NABU said Sens Bank and accounts of companies under its control were used for these operations. Galushchenko was arrested in February in the Midas investigation, which also involves Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky.

Sens Bank and the allegations against Pyshnyi

Sens Bank was nationalised in 2023 after being owned by Russian bankers with Kremlin ties until it was expropriated during the war. Ukrainska Pravda says the probe may concern the selection of the bank's chair. Vasyl Veselyi, a former adviser to the Sens Bank supervisory board, appears in the Midas investigation, and its recordings include a conversation involving him. In early September, former supervisory board chair Shevki Adjuner told a temporary parliamentary investigative commission that Veselyi had been appointed on Pyshnyi's recommendation. Pyshnyi has denied recommending Veselyi, presenting him to the board or pressuring the board, and said claims to the contrary are untrue. Zhelezniak said, citing several of his sources, that the searches were linked to the KarpatNaftoKhim chemical plant and that a suspicion notice would soon be served on the governor. NABU has not confirmed these claims.

Open questions

Several points remain unresolved. NABU has not said whether Pyshnyi is under investigation, and reports that his home was searched come from anonymous sources and politicians rather than the agency. NABU also declined to specify the suspected offence, which employee's home was searched, or whether any documents were seized. The National Bank has promised further explanations after the procedural actions are complete. No charge or suspicion notice has been made public so far.