Attack on Skhemy journalists at bank: restored video, Metzger's regret and suspension, NBU reaction and protest outside the bank

Skhemy's editorial team managed to restore video confirming the use of violence.

Skhemy journalists restored and published a previously deleted video of the attack by employees of state-owned Ukreximbank on their film crew. 

Only after this did bank chairman Yevhen Metzger take responsibility and resign.

We explain what became known from the video, what Metzger said and how the NBU reacted.

Restored video

As Skhemy host Natalia Sedletska said, after receiving their cameras with deleted recordings from bank employees, they asked the outlet's IT specialists to try to restore the deleted footage.

After this, the journalists published a recording showing the entire scene of the incident.

Natalia Sedletska
host of Skhemy

The interview, the journalist's question and everything that happened next. The lens also caught the moment of the attack on the cameraman: a bank employee wrestled Oleksandr Mazur to the ground and forcibly tore a memory card from another camera out of his hand.

She also said the attacker was identified as Ihor Telbizov, director of the banking security department of Ukreximbank.

The video also shows the employee entering an elevator and carrying Radio Liberty equipment to another floor.

Apology and Metzger's suspension

For his part, Ukreximbank chairman Yevhen Metzger, who had given a high-profile interview, stated on Facebook that he was “shocked” by the attack on journalists in his office, and that his own behavior fills him with shame and disgust.

Yevhen Metzger
chairman of the board of Ukreximbank

The events that took place in my office on October 4 and were later published by Skhemy are unacceptable on my part and have shocked not only the public and the journalistic community, but me as well. <...> I had no right to that outburst; it causes the greatest disgust and shame in me personally.

Metzger said he is “by nature an even-tempered person” and has “always considered and will continue to consider freedom of speech and a free press the foundation of democracy and a cornerstone of the state's independence.”

He apologized to Skhemy journalists and added that he is ready to apologize again “in any form convenient for them.”

Metzger also apologized to his colleagues, because his behavior caused “enormous damage to the bank's image, to the morale of its wonderful team and to the prestige of the banking profession as such.”

He added that he had written a letter of resignation from the post of chairman of the bank's board, which the supervisory board accepted. However, it later became known that Metzger had stepped down only for the duration of the investigation.

Protest outside the bank and fallen flowerpot

As UP reported, dozens of concerned citizens gathered outside the Ukreximbank building demanding the full resignation of the bank's management for obstructing journalistic activity.

Protesters gathered at the bank with placards reading “UkrekximBYK” and “Metzger OUT”.

They demand the management's resignation and an investigation into the unlawful actions taken by the bank's management and security, who seized equipment from Skhemy journalists and tried to destroy the recorded material.

In addition, journalists gathered at the building for Metzger's announced press conference, but the meeting had been canceled an hour earlier.

When journalists approached the building, a flowerpot fell from a bank window near them. It is unknown whether someone threw it or it fell by itself.

Serving of suspicion and escape of a suspect

Police from the Holosiivskyi district department and Kyiv city prosecutors arrived at the bank branch to serve notice of suspicion to two suspects in a criminal case opened over obstruction of journalistic activity.

It is likely that the notices of suspicion were intended specifically for Metzger and Telbizov. The date for choosing a preventive measure has not yet been announced.

The criminal case was opened under Part 1 (seizure of materials collected by a journalist) and Part 3 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Obstruction of the lawful professional activity of journalists). 

However, they were not at their workplaces. 

Nadiya Maksymets
press secretary of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office

When representatives of the National Police and the prosecutor's office contacted the bank's administration, they were told that one person had currently resigned from his post and the other had submitted a letter of resignation. Despite this, they are currently not released from duty and must be at their workplace. However, the administration said these individuals are not at their workplace and the reasons for their absence are unknown.

Maksymets noted that prosecutors left a notice of suspicion and summonses to the investigative bodies with the bank's administration for carrying out procedural and investigative actions. 

Also, according to Maksymets, it has been preliminarily established that one suspect in the above-mentioned case was in fact still on the bank's premises, but it later became known that he had allegedly left the building through another exit for health reasons after law enforcement arrived.

NBU reaction

The National Bank told EP that it is “closely monitoring” developments around Ukreximbank and will act in accordance with its mandate.

“The National Bank of Ukraine has already responded to the situation at Ukreximbank. We have sent a request to the bank's supervisory board for information about the incident involving the film crew of the Skhemy program, and we are closely monitoring developments around Ukreximbank.

We are convinced that the top management of banks must maintain professionalism and respect for the rights and freedoms of every person in any problematic situation. Such an approach in communications with journalists is unacceptable,” the NBU said.

The NBU also added that it may consider whether the bank's head meets the requirements set by law after receiving information that may indicate the person lacks an impeccable business reputation.