In August, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) fined PJSC Bank Vostok (Dnipro) for violating the law on combating the laundering of illegally obtained funds for a total amount of UAH 16 million, according to information on the regulator’s website.
Fines of UAH 15 million and UAH 1 million were imposed for violations of the AML/CFT law in terms of the bank’s failure to properly implement a risk-based approach in its activities and to properly verify customers with whom it has high-risk business relationships.
In addition, the bank was given two written warnings for violating the requirements of the AML/CFT law in terms of improper performance of its duty, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, to develop and implement internal documents on AML/CFT issues, as well as in terms of the absence in internal documents on financial monitoring procedures sufficient to ensure effective risk management, and for errors in information (statistical reporting) on currency transactions.
According to information on its website, Ukrainian commercial bank Vostok is owned by Vostok Capital, whose shareholders are Vladimir Kostelman (owner of Fozzy Group), Vadim Morokhovsky, and Lia Morokhovskaya.
Despite the growing share of the euro in Ukraine’s foreign trade and international reserves, the US dollar remains the exchange rate-forming currency for the hryvnya. This was reported by the first Deputy head of the NBU Sergey Mykolaychuk in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“Historically, the focus has always been on the hryvnia-dollar pair. We realize that changes are possible over time with the deepening of European integration, but there is no clear transition plan. Today the dollar remains the exchange rate-forming currency,” he said.
According to the official, the structure of reserves and settlements may change in the future, however, instruments for hedging currency risks, including forwards, are available for business.
Ukraine will be able to avoid recession and even accelerate economic development after the end of active hostilities, the first deputy head of the NBU, Serhiy Mykolaychuk, has said.
In an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, he emphasized that the international experience of post-war crises is not fully applicable to Ukraine.
“We expect that defense spending will remain significant, while European integration plans and capital inflows will support the economy. In addition, the reintegration of veterans into peaceful life will be faster than it was in other countries, thanks to modern technologies and features of society,” Mykolaychuk said.
The National Bank, in cooperation with international partners, is working on reforming the infrastructure of the Ukrainian capital market. This was announced by First Deputy Head of the NBU Serhiy Nikolaychuk in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
According to him, the goal is to adapt Ukrainian regulations to European standards, improve investor protection, and create a basis for the inflow of long-term capital after the war. “We want the Ukrainian market to be as integrated as possible into the European financial space,” Nikolaychuk said.
The National Bank of Ukraine does not support the initiative to include cryptocurrencies in the state’s international reserves. This was stated by the first Deputy head of the NBU Serhiy Mykolaychuk in an interview with the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”.
“Consultations with the NBU on this bill was not held, and in our opinion such changes would be premature. We do not plan to include virtual assets in international reserves,” Nikolaychuk emphasized.
He explained the regulator’s position with three main arguments:
1) The high risk level of crypto-assets, which are unable to ensure the reliability of reserves.
2) Lack of a uniform legislative definition of cryptocurrencies, which makes their inclusion risky in terms of legal certainty.
3) Impact on Ukraine’s European integration, as the European Central Bank considers it unacceptable to include cryptoassets in the reserves of EU central banks.
The National Bank of Ukraine considers the issuance of military domestic bonds (OVDPs) to be the main and most effective instrument for covering the budget deficit in wartime. This was announced by First Deputy
Head of the NBU Serhiy Nikolaychuk in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
According to him, high demand from banks and the population allows the Ministry of Finance to successfully place securities while maintaining macrofinancial stability. “OVDPs remain a safe and most transparent way to finance the state’s needs,” he said.
