KIEV, Feb. 25 – Serhiy Arbuzov, the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, in his first interview after the appointment two months ago, suggested he earned 150 million hrynias in 2009 from investing in Treasury bills and “other instruments.”

Arbuzov, 34, who is rumored to have close personal connection to the family of President Viktor Yanukovych, has never addressed publicly the issue, neither with lawmakers nor with reporters.

Before his appointment as governor, Arbuzov for years has been in charge of a small commercial bank, UkrBiznesBank, which is thought to be affiliated with Yanukovych interests.

Last month Arbozov suddenly cancelled a scheduled press conference at the NBU after the controversy and questions over how he had managed to earn the massive income in 2009.

In the interview with ZN.ua published on Friday, he had spoken about the issue for the first time, giving vague and sometimes contradictory answers.

“Actually, it appears to be a funny story,” Arbuzov said when asked to disclose the source of income. “Where have these 150 million been reported? In an [income tax] declaration. That means they have been taxed.”

“I was making investments, I work in the banking sector for a long time and I understand what kind of instrument is the T-bill, other investment instruments.”

“The money was earned when I worked at a commercial bank,” Arbuzov said. “If I cannot successfully invest my own capital and make money, what kind of a commercial banker am I? How can I manage someone else’s money if I cannot manage my own?”

Arbuzov owns 2.3% stake in UkrBiznesBank, but the bank has never paid out any dividends in 2009, according to regulators. But even if it did, the amount paid – 150 million hryvnias – is astonishing for a small bank.

Oleksandr Yanukovych, the son of the president, was widely reported by media to be the owner of UkrBiznesBank.

But in the interview, Arbuzov suggested that he owned a controlling stake in UkrBiznesBank, and only sold most of the stake, before his appointment to the NBU.

“Yes. At that point I already had some funds and invested it in the development of the bank that I had managed and I understood its perspective,” Arbuzov said. “But when I was offered a position at the NBU, I had sold the shares of UkrBiznesBank.”

However, in what appears to be a controversy, in a response to another question, Arbuzov suggests that he was the manager – not the owner – of the bank.

“I managed not only to pull the bank out of crisis, but also to earn good money for both: for the owner and for me as the manager,” Arbuzov said.

Arbuzov’s mother, Valentyna Arbuzova, is the chairwoman of the board at another small bank owned by the Yanukovych family - Vseukrayinskiy Bank Rozvytku, or VBR.

VBR, which has been aggressively expanding, planned to double its capital - to 210 million hryvnias from 110 million hryvnias – through selling 100,000 shares to an undisclosed investor.

Arbuzov responded to the question about his mother running the bank owned by Yanukovych’s son.

“This is, perhaps, the most serious reason for the rumors” of close personal relationship with the Yanukovych family, Arbzov said. “But it is Valentina Ivanovna [Arbuzova] who runs the bank owned by Oleksandr Viktorovych [Yanukovych]. I have my own career and history. I developed in my own way.”

Arbuzov also confirmed that he is one of people in Ukraine that legally do not have a Tax ID number - an equivalent of social security number in the U.S. - which makes it impossible for the tax authorities to track his income and spending.

He said he is an “Orthodox Christian” and argued the absence of the Tax ID by his religious belief. Some Orthodox Christians believe the Tax ID number is ‘the Stamp of the Devil’ and should be avoided. (tl/ez)