The Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine (hereinafter – the HACU) threw out a statement of claim lodged by Mr Yurii Karmazin and Ms Natalia Tselovalnichenko against Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko and Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeria Gontareva as third party. The plaintiffs attempted to question the legitimacy of the appointment of Valeria Gontareva as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine due to lack of senior managerial experience in the Ukrainian banks and demanded to oblige the Ukrainian President to submit a petition ordering her dismissal from office.
However, the professional background and business reputation of Ms Valeria Gontareva were not questioned by the HACU. "As evidenced from the record of employment of Ms Valeria Gontareva, which was reviewed in the course of the court hearing, her length of service in senior managerial positions in the banks meets the requirements of Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine On the National Bank of Ukraine", – reads the ruling by the HACU.
Valeria Gontareva meets all the eligibility criteria set out in Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine On the National Bank of Ukraine.
Valeria Gontareva has irreproachable business reputation. She has over 20 years of experience in the leading Ukrainian and international financial institutions and over 11 years (11 years 3 months and ten days) of top managerial experience in the banking industry (this information was confirmed by the HACU in the course of the court hearing).
From 1994 to 1996, she worked at the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange, and later – held senior executive positions at Societe Generale Ukraine JSC (1996 – 2000) and ING Bank Ukraine JSB (2001 – 2007).
Prior to her appointment as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, Valeria Gontareva ran Investment Capital Ukraine Asset Management Company, an investment company, which took a lead in corporate and government debt securities trading in the Ukrainian market (2007 – 2014).
We are confident that the ruling by the HACU regarding the legitimacy of the appointment of Valeria Gontareva as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine will put an end to all insinuations and speculations surrounding this subject.
As a side note, as part of the policy of openness and transparency, the National Bank of Ukraine publishes all public information regarding the senior management team of the regulator, in particular, details of the Governor of the National Bank and the Board members on its official website.