Austria refuses to extradite ex-head of NBU Kyrylo Shevchenko, who claimed political persecution, — Der Standard

According to the Austrian edition Der Standard, Austrian courts rejected the request of the Ukrainian authorities for the extradition of Kyrylo Shevchenko, the former head of the NBU, wanted by the NABU at the end of October 2022.

Shevchenko himself called this a typical political persecution.  As the main reason he cites his intransigence as head of the National Bank and the revenge of the authorities for his refusal to issue hryvnia and reduce the interest rate in the first year of the war.

Der Standard writes that when after the beginning of the war it was necessary to replenish the state budget, the administration of President Vladimir Zelenskyy put pressure on him to cut the key interest rate and issue hryvnia. Shevchenko refused to further fuel unbridled inflation and not contribute to further devaluation of the weakening Ukrainian currency. His monetary policy decisions as head of the National Bank kept the war-torn country’s financial system from collapsing, and now, a year after his resignation, have kept inflation at an annual rate of 5%. 

The publication emphasizes that before Shevchenko took over the post of head of the National Bank, he was thoroughly checked. However, when the opponents needed to get rid of him, they "dug up the old case and reopened it."  This was despite the fact that the investigation into the case had already been officially closed due to the lack of a crime. Shevchenko considers the accusations made to be fabricated. Moreover, the composition of the group of prosecutors was changed a week before the suspicion was raised.

The former head of the NBU is convinced that in case of return to Ukraine he should not hope for a fair trial, given that all the petitions of his defense – more than 50 petitions – were rejected by the court. Among other things, fundamental rights such as applications to be questioned or to attend court hearings online have been violated. 

Kyrylo Shevchenko is counting on the justice of the Austrian authorities, given the obvious violations of his right to a fair trial and the report of the non-governmental organization “Kharkiv Human Rights Group”, which released evidence of political persecution in his case.

The NABU declined to comment to the Austrian publication.

“Der Standard did not receive a response from the Ukrainian anti-corruption bureau,” notes the publication.

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