Artem Shevalyov returns to Ukrgasbank amid NABU case

The supervisory board of the state-owned Ukrgasbank 2 October 2026 chose Artem Shevalyov as chairman of the management board for a five-year term. The decision was made after the powers of acting chairman of the management board Rodion Morozov were terminated; Morozov is also leaving the bank’s management on 6 October. Until the National Bank approves Artem Shevalyov’s candidacy, the institution is temporarily headed by first deputy chairman of the management board Volodymyr Ponomaryov.

Artem Shevalyov has already worked at Ukrgasbank and is returning to the state financial institution amid criminal proceedings linked to its previous management and certain lending operations. The state owns 94,9409% of the bank’s shares, so the leadership change is taking place in an institution that remains under state control, media report. Rodion Morozov led Ukrgasbank’s management board as acting chairman for about three years and seven months. His departure follows searches carried out at the bank in November 2024 as part of a criminal investigation into lending to companies connected to the gas business. Law enforcement conducted searches at Ukrgasbank on 29 November 2024. According to the investigation materials, credit operations and uncovered letters of credit were being checked, for which collateral amounted to about 30%. During the investigative actions, law enforcement seized phones and technical devices. Morozov said the bank itself had detected the problematic operation and in June 2024 had contacted law enforcement. Artem Shevalyov has a long-standing connection with the state banking system. In 2015 he chaired Ukrgasbank’s supervisory board when Kyrylo Shevchenko was appointed chairman of the management board. Earlier, Artem Shevalyov served as deputy finance minister, and since 2011 he had ties to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Since the end of 2016 Artem Shevalyov has been a member of the supervisory board of the state-owned PrivatBank. Before his appointment to Ukrgasbank he must terminate duties incompatible with the new position and obtain approval from the National Bank. Until this procedure is completed, Artem Shevalyov will not formally head the institution’s management board. The bank’s interim head is Volodymyr Ponomaryov. He has worked at Ukrgasbank since 2015, when he joined the risk management unit. Since 2023 Ponomaryov has been a member of the management board, and since April 2024 he has held the post of first deputy chairman of the management board. With Ponomaryov’s involvement, during the conference on Ukraine’s recovery in Rome agreements were signed that provide for financing and risk-sharing in the amount of more than $500 million. He will lead the bank until the National Bank approves Artem Shevalyov’s candidacy.

The leadership change comes amid another criminal case concerning the period when Kyrylo Shevchenko worked at Ukrgasbank. According to NABU and SAP data, from November 2014 to March 2020 the bank made more than a thousand payments totaling about 206 million hryvnias to 52 intermediaries. According to the investigation, the payments were allegedly made for client acquisition. At the same time, some of the companies, according to the criminal case materials, were already serviced by Ukrgasbank or did not require intermediary services. Law enforcement believes that funds may have been siphoned from the bank under the guise of rewards for attracting clients. The investigation names Kyrylo Shevchenko as the organizer of the scheme; he was initially first deputy chairman of the management board and later headed Ukrgasbank, after which he became head of the National Bank. Former deputy justice minister Denys Chernyshov is also involved in the case. Other accused or implicated persons include former first deputy prosecutor general Mykola Herasymiuk, his wife Kateryna, Denys Chernyshov’s wife Nataliya, and former Ukrgasbank employee Olena Khmelenko. The criminal proceedings concern, among other things, misappropriation of property, creation of a criminal organization, money laundering, and official forgery. 1 May 2026 the High Anti-Corruption Court began consideration of the main case on the merits. According to available information, Kyrylo Shevchenko and Denys Chernyshov are in Austria. Some participants in the case have already reached plea agreements within the criminal proceedings. Thus, Artem Shevalyov is returning to the bank where in 2015 he chaired the supervisory board during Kyrylo Shevchenko’s appointment as chairman of the management board. Shevchenko is now a figure in a case concerning the possible misappropriation of 206 million hryvnias, which is already being heard by the High Anti-Corruption Court, while Artem Shevalyov is vying for the position of Ukrgasbank’s direct head. Simultaneously with the personnel changes, the bank remains the subject of a new criminal proceeding related to lending operations, which prompted searches in 2024. Morozov, who headed the institution during that period, is leaving the management board, and Artem Shevalyov must obtain the National Bank’s approval before finally taking office. Ukrgasbank remains one of the major state-owned banks. According to the data cited, its assets exceed 236 billion hryvnias. The institution’s future leadership will depend on the National Bank’s approval of Artem Shevalyov’s candidacy, while criminal proceedings concerning previous operations and the bank’s management continue to be considered.