The National Bank of Ukraine has questioned the professional competence of Ukrposhta Director Ihor Smilyansky after the company announced its intention to appeal the fine imposed on it. According to Delo.ua, this is stated in the NBU statement.
What Smilyansky said
The other day, Smilyansky said that the fine imposed by the NBU on Ukrposhta is a manifestation of pressure on the company and may be an attempt to influence the process of creating Ukrposhta Bank.
According to him, the regulator’s claims concern the requirement to provide the NBU with the agenda and minutes of the supervisory board meetings. Ukrposhta believes that such requirements go beyond the principles of corporate governance and limit the autonomy of supervisory bodies. Smilyansky stressed that the company complied with the regulator’s decision and paid a fine of UAH 250,000, but plans to appeal it in court. He also stated that the NBU’s requirements may pose risks to the independence of management of state-owned companies. As a reminder, on March 17, the NBU fined Ukrposhta 255,000 hryvnias.
The regulator’s position
The NBU called this “attempts by the company’s manager to discredit the bank’s actions and mislead the public.” The regulator stated that due to its scale and specifics of its activities, Ukrposhta is an important part of the payment infrastructure, so improper management of the company from a local problem turns into a “systemic risk for the state.”
The NBU recalled that, in addition to the fine in March 2026, the regulator imposed a fine of 17,387,053 hryvnias on Ukrposhta in March 2024 for violating legislation in the field of financial monitoring. In addition, in August and December 2025, the National Bank issued written warnings to the company for violating legislation and ineffective management.
“The corporate governance system built at JSC Ukrposhta does not meet the regulatory requirements of the National Bank and best international practice,” the regulator emphasizes.
The NBU claims that Ukrposhta did not have a supervisory board for a long time and there was an improper division of powers, so Smilyansky actually managed Ukrposhta alone. Because of this, complex problems arose in the company’s work.
“The systemic nature of the violations during 2024–2026, despite previous measures of influence, calls into question the quality of corporate governance in the company and the professional competence of its head – General Director Ihor Smilyansky,” the NBU emphasized.
It also noted that any applicant for a banking license must demonstrate an impeccable reputation, effectively manage the company and comply with the requirements of the regulator, and ignoring these standards is unacceptable. The regulator reported that Ukrposhta did not submit documents for obtaining a banking license, although it declared its intentions. The NBU considers it “critically necessary” to form a supervisory board for Ukrposhta in the near future.
