Law not for everyone: NBU's chief lawyer under investigation for "abuse" still not suspended from office

Oleksandr Zyma, the chief lawyer of the National Bank, who is accused by the State Bureau of Investigation of abuse of power with grave consequences, still holds the position of director of the NBU’s legal department. The irony is that, according to the investigation, it was in this position that Zyma committed the “abuse,” UNN reports.

According to the investigation, Zyma, while simultaneously being the head of the administrative council of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, personally gave instructions to withdraw lawsuits against the NBU. And this is not just some internal correspondence. This refers to lawsuits filed by Concord Bank, which tried to challenge the regulator’s fines of over UAH 63 million even before its liquidation.

The result? The lawsuits were withdrawn. And the shareholders of “Concord”, Olena and Yulia Sosedka, were deprived of the right to a fair trial. And all this thanks to the official instruction of the NBU’s chief lawyer. Yes, the key figure in the criminal proceedings continues to do exactly what law enforcement agencies accuse him of.

At the same time, the investigation into Zyma is being delayed. After all, no active investigative actions have been carried out against him for more than six months. Despite the resonance and public interest, the official, who obviously committed an official crime, has not yet been served with a notice of suspicion. Moreover, Zyma has not even been interrogated.

As UNN previously reported, Oleksandr Sytnikov, a retired judge of the High Administrative Court and a lawyer, noted that such delays are typical for investigations of official crimes.

Let’s addThe case against Zyma was opened by the SBI back in 2023, under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of power or official position that caused grave consequences. And now, it’s already summer 2025 – there is no suspicion, no interrogation, and accordingly, the court has not imposed any restrictions. Although the Pechersk Court of Kyiv even obliged the investigators to speed up the investigation. The prosecutor’s office demanded to intensify the investigation. Meanwhile, Zyma receives almost half a million in salary per month and continues to sit in the chair of the NBU’s chief lawyer.

This is despite the fact that police investigators recognized Olena and Yulia Sosedka as victims, which officially confirms the damage from Zyma’s actions. However, the National Bank is not in a hurry to either dismiss or at least suspend the official. He calmly sits in his office, receives a salary of over 6 million per year.