Andriy Pyshnyy and the lawyer who received millions from Oshchad and Privat: how the NBU head's estate revealed shady connections

National Bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyy may have ties to the owner of a law firm that earns hundreds of millions of hryvnias from state-owned banks through assets registered in his daughter's name. Oleksiy Didkovskyi, the owner of Asters, received his most famous case (helping American lawyers) from Oshchad when Pyshnyy was the head of the financial institution. Almost at the same time, Pyshnyy's wife became a business partner of Serhiy Slyusarenko, who owns Ukrborg with Didkovskyi.

Now Pyshnyy's family is building a 900-square-meter estate next door to Slyusarenko. And Didkovskyi's Asters, thanks in part to its partnership with state-owned banks, is perhaps the largest law firm in Ukraine specializing in finance and banking.

Read about the possible connection between Didkovskyi and Pyshnyy in the OBOZ.UA article.

Pyshnyy's estate: what else is known about the connections of NBU head

In the declaration of NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy, there are two land plots belonging to Svitlana Pyshna (daughter), which are located on the beach near the Riviera Village cottage town. The plot next to it belongs to the company of well-known entrepreneur Serhiy Slyusarenko, Lebedivski Stavky. He is also now Pyshna's business partner. They are building a mansion (with one underground floor) with an area of 891.7 square meters.

The NBU governor's ties to Slyusarenko are not limited to his estate. Serhiy Slyusarenko owns 50% of Ukrborg (a licensee of the National Bank). Another 50% of the company belongs to a well-known Ukrainian lawyer Oleksiy Didkovskyi. He is one of the most successful lawyers in Ukraine specializing in banking.

In July 2015, Oshchadbank sent a claim to the government and the President of the Russian Federation for compensation for losses caused by the annexation of Crimea. The state-owned bank estimated its direct losses at about UAH 15 billion. At the time, the bank was headed by the current NBU governor, Andriy Pyshnyy. Already in 2016, Asters announced on its official website that it was assisting Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, the main legal advisor to Oschadbank, in connection with Oschadbank's claim against the Russian Federation.

The American firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan won the case, receiving $1.3 billion. Their "assistant" in Ukraine, Asters, also got its share of fame. It became perhaps the most famous story of their success. "We call on other Ukrainian companies, both state-owned and private, to apply to international arbitration in order to restore justice and make the occupier answer at least for the economic losses of Ukraine as a result of the devastating attack on our country," the press service of Oschadbank quoted Andriy Pyshnyy, the head of the financial institution's board, as saying.

In fact, thanks to Oshchad, Asters had the opportunity to participate in a case that changed their market position and fortunes. They became one of the largest players and favorites not only of Oshchad, but also of other state-owned banks. For example, Privatbank and the National Bank of Ukraine spent UAH 900 million fighting the former owner of the financial institution, Ihor Kolomoiskyi. Didkovskyi's Asters Consult received most of this amount (about 700 million, according to media reports).

It was during the period when Asters started cooperating with Oshchad that the Pyshnyy family took a step to build their estate. Thus, in July 2015, Oshchadbank headed by Pyshnyy decided to sue the Russian Federation, as it turned out later, with the help of Asters, and in June 2015, a month before, Joy Forest firm, a partner of Asters' owner Serhiy Slyusarenko, met a new co-owner - Pyshnyy's wife Lyudmyla.

Her participation in Joy Forest probably allowed her to get a plot of land in an elite suburb. Now it is registered in the name of Pyshnyy's daughter Svitlana, who is the owner of the 900-square-meter estate that the NBU governor's family is building here.

OBOZ.UA does not claim that it was Pyshnyy who initiated Asters' involvement and that it was somehow connected with obtaining a land plot or his family members participating in the authorized capital of Joy Forest. Although we sent a request to the NBU asking Andriy Pyshnyy to comment on the investment in the estate, we did not receive a substantive response. However, an independent observer may start having fair doubts about such a connection due to the absence of a conflict of interest.

Asters received large profits from the state bank

Asters, based on the information on their website, still believes that their participation in winning $1.3 billion for Oshchad is perhaps the most important event in the company's life. This achievement is presented on Asters' website as a key one. However, the lawyers did not specify that this was actually a victory for the American company Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which they helped.

After Oshchad, another state-owned bank, Privat, has become Asters' largest known client. Back in 2016, before the litigation with the former owners of Privatbank started, Asters' revenue soared to UAH 290 million in 2018, when the agreements with the state bank and the regulator were signed.

Didkovskyi's company also demanded to recover debts from Swedbank's clients. Irena Kilchytska, former vice president of Pravex Bank, publicly accused the parties of laundering large sums of money. "When the deal to sell the troubled bank was already underway, suddenly, Swedbank's shareholders added $100 million to the authorized capital, which was transferred to offshore accounts. It was pure money laundering. Lawyer Oleksiy Didkovskyi was personally behind Swedbank. After the sale, Müller-Hanke (who was the chairman of the board) bought a villa in Italy (this information is easy to verify), while Didkovskyi bought a house in London and moved his family there. During Swedbank's operation, Didkovskyi's law firm seems to have provided 'legal' services to it too... Every month, millions of dollars were debited from the bank's accounts to pay this company for the 'help'," Kilchytska said in an interview with GORDON.

OBOZ.UA has not been able to find out on what terms first Lyudmyla and then Svitlana Pyshna became Slyusarenko's business partners. However, it can be assumed that Didkovskyi should be grateful to Pyshnyy. After all, it was during the latter's tenure at Oshchad that his company turned into a competitive market player.