- Fed Chair Powell held a phone call with a Russian prankster impersonating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- A spokesperson for the Federal Reserve told Insider that “classified or sensitive information was not discussed.”
- The pranksters set up a similar ruse against former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Earlier this year, two Russian pranksters tricked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell into calling him impersonating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Footage circulated on Russian state television showed Powell answering an interviewer’s question, and the central bank governor appeared to think he was talking to Ukraine’s leader.
In a statement sent to insiders, a Fed spokesperson confirmed that Powell took part in a call in January with someone who “misrepresented himself” as Ukrainian president.
“It was a friendly conversation and was conducted in the context of our position to support the people of Ukraine during this difficult time,” the statement said. I didn’t.”
A phone call that appears to have been made by Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov has been linked to Powell’s inflation outlook and Russia’s central bank, bloomberg reported on Thursday.
A spokesperson said, “The video appears to have been edited and cannot be verified for accuracy. This matter has been referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies and, out of respect for their efforts, will be unable to comment further. No,” he added.
Earlier this year, Kuznetsov and Stolyarov launched similar ploys on other high-ranking officials, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and the two had previously worked with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko. I pretended to be the former president and had a conversation.