Shevchenko Kirill Yevhenovych

From a state bank to the NBU: a career against the backdrop of a criminal case

Kirill Shevchenko effectively led Ukrgasbank from the end of 2014, and in May 2015, as a result of an open competition, he was elected chairman of the board. In July 2020, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Shevchenko as the chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine. Notably, the criminal case and document seizure at Ukrgasbank were conducted as early as 2019, but this did not prevent Kirill Shevchenko from assuming the position of NBU chairman. According to the investigation, in November 2014, officials of the state-owned Ukrgasbank implemented a money laundering scheme: the bank paid 52 fictitious intermediaries for "bringing" large clients to it — businesses and state enterprises that deposited money. In reality, clients came on their own: businesses on their own initiative, state bodies because the Cabinet of Ministers obliged them. But the bank still transferred money to the "intermediaries." The total losses from the scheme were estimated by NABU and SAP at over 206 million hryvnias.

Resignation due to "health reasons," Vienna, and the in absentia arrest by the High Anti-Corruption Court

On October 4, 2022, Shevchenko resigned as chairman of the NBU, citing health problems. On October 6, NABU notified him of suspicion — Shevchenko's whereabouts at that time were unknown, so the notice was left at the National Bank. On October 23, NABU declared Shevchenko internationally wanted.

Later, NABU additionally charged ten more individuals, and Shevchenko was charged with a new article — Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (creation and leadership of a criminal organization), punishable by up to 15 years in prison. In April 2026, the High Anti-Corruption Court scheduled the case for substantive consideration — the first hearing took place on May 1, 2026. All key figures remain abroad. Among them are former Deputy Prosecutor General Mykola Herasymiuk, his wife Kateryna, and the wife of Denys Chernyshov, Nataliya, who acted as "fictitious partners" of the bank in the scheme.