Shevki Adzhuner, the former head of the supervisory board of Ukraine's nationalized Sens Bank, told a parliamentary investigative commission on Thursday, September 10, that National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) governor Andriy Pyshnyi personally recommended Vasyl Veselyi for the post of adviser to the supervisory board on relations with state authorities.
Adzhuner made the statement at a hearing of the Verkhovna Rada's temporary investigative commission (TSK), which is examining events at Sens Bank.
Asked how he came to know Veselyi, Adzhuner said he met him following discussions with a representative of the NBU about the need to improve communication between the state and stakeholders. He said that when the head of the National Bank recommends someone, it comes with an explanation of why that person would perform the role well, and that he was told Veselyi could be trusted as a communicator between the bank and its stakeholders.
He said the first conversation about finding such a person, and his subsequent introduction to the candidate, took place at the National Bank's premises, on the management floor, with Pyshnyi present.
Why the board sought an adviser
Adzhuner explained that the supervisory board, which at the time had five members, could not devote enough attention to maintaining regular communication with state institutions, which is why it sought to bring in a dedicated adviser.
After the recommendation, Veselyi's candidacy was put to the other board members, who interviewed him and agreed his contract terms without Adzhuner's involvement, which he said was done to preserve the independence of the decision. Veselyi was first signed to a standard three-month probationary agreement, which was later extended for a further 12 months.
Adzhuner said Veselyi had no influence over the nationalized bank's operational or financial decisions and served only as a one-way communication channel on the state of affairs at the institution. He said the adviser's main areas of work were liaison with the Ministry of Finance, in particular deputy minister Yuriy Draganchuk, and the Office of the President, while contact with the NBU itself remained largely within a formal regulatory format.
How Adzhuner left the board
Adzhuner told the commission he did not leave his post voluntarily but because the supervisory board's work was blocked after it lost its quorum in July. He added that a selection commission later rejected his application to take part in a new competition for independent board members.
Adzhuner became a member and head of Sens Bank's supervisory board in July 2023 and served in that role until June 2025.
Pyshnyi denies the claims
The article was updated at 13:52 with a response from Andriy Pyshnyi, who categorically rejected giving the supervisory board any recommendations on personnel matters. He said he did not give any recommendations regarding the appointment of Vasyl Veselyi as an adviser to the supervisory board, did not present him to the board, did not instruct board members on this or any other personnel decisions, and did not put any pressure on the head or members of Sens Bank's supervisory board, adding that claims to the contrary do not correspond to reality.
At the same time, Pyshnyi did not deny knowing Veselyi, though he did not specify what that acquaintance involved. The NBU governor asked the investigative commission to urgently hold a hearing with all the individuals named in Adzhuner's statements.
Background on Veselyi
In November 2025, Sens Bank's management board chairman Oleksiy Stupak said that Veselyi, whom lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak had called an "overseer" for the Office of the President, no longer worked at the bank.
In June 2026, searches were carried out at Veselyi's premises as part of an investigation known as operation Midas.
Wider changes at Sens Bank
On August 21, the Cabinet of Ministers terminated the powers of Mykola Hladyshenko as head of Sens Bank's supervisory board. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi had announced Hladyshenko's removal on August 19, the same day anti-corruption bodies disclosed an investigation known as operation Forest Gump and announced suspicions against several people in the case, including former deputy head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra.
Also on August 19, Koretskyi said the government had initiated the removal of Stupak.
