The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is conducting an internal investigation into the cooperation of the National Bank with the forensic company Kroll Inc., the consulting firm AlixPartners, as well as the law firms Hogan Lovells and Asters in the case of withdrawing $5.5 billion from PrivatBank prior to its nationalization, First Deputy Governor of the NBU Kateryna Rozhkova has said.

"Today, inside the NBU, internal investigations are underway regarding our cooperation with the Kroll agency and legal advisors, the cooperation, the purpose of which was and is to protect the interests of the state," she wrote on Facebook on Friday.

The first deputy governor added that these actions inflict a powerful blow on the reputation and image of Ukraine in the international arena, since today the attention of international partners is focused as much as possible on the investigation of fraudulent activities in PrivatBank.

The press service of the NBU told Interfax-Ukraine that the National Bank continues defending the lawfulness of the decisions to nationalize PrivatBank and firmly adheres to the position that those guilty of abuses should be held accountable for bringing the largest bank in Ukraine to bankruptcy.

"The NBU... facilitated the investigation of these abuses by law enforcement agencies. Interaction of the National Bank with all law enforcement agencies is taking place... in compliance with the NBU requirements regarding the secrecy of the investigation and the legal regime for disclosing bank secrets," the press service said.

The regulator also called on the media to refrain from disseminating unconfirmed information about the illegal withdrawal of funds from PrivatBank until they receive official comments from law enforcement agencies.