Ihor Smilianskyi, head of Ukrposhta, provided media representatives with a copy of a court ruling alleging that the current head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Andrii Pyshnyi, holds a forged higher education diploma. The document was published against the backdrop of an escalating conflict between the two agencies over the regulator’s blocking of plans to establish a bank based on the postal operator. This followed an official demand by the NBU for Smilianskyi to be dismissed from his post on grounds of ‘professional unsuitability’.
According to the published materials, this relates to a court verdict concerning members of an organised criminal group (OCG) involved in the production of forged documents. According to Smilianskyi, the current head of the National Bank’s diploma also features in the case files.
At present, the press office of the National Bank of Ukraine has not commented on the authenticity of the published documents or the allegations against the governor.
This media attack coincided with a protracted dispute between the National Bank and the management of ‘Ukrposhta’. The cause of the disagreement is a banking licence for ‘Ukrposhta’.
Ihor Smiliansky has long been lobbying for a project to establish a fully-fledged postal bank to expand financial services in rural areas. For its part, the NBU, under the leadership of Andriy Pyshny, has consistently opposed this initiative, arguing that it poses risks to the stability of the financial system.
“Smilianskyi wants to set up a bank based on Ukrposhta, whilst Pyshnyy is actively opposing this,” comment specialist media outlets, noting that the mutual accusations have escalated into a bitter personal conflict.
Experts point out that this incident highlights a deep rift between the heads of key state institutions. The situation involving the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine and the head of Ukrposhta may require intervention by higher executive authorities to stabilise the operations of both agencies.