A Ukrainian court has set a dangerous precedent that impinges on the National Bank of Ukraine’s (NBU’s) independence with a ruling that bans the bank’s deputy governor from working.

The ruling concerns a case brought by MP Ihor Lutsenko, a member of Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, against Yekateryna Rozhkova, the deputy chairman of the NBU, last December.

Kyiv’s Darnytsky District court ruled on April 25 to uphold Lutsenko’s complaint and has prohibited Rozhkova from “taking part in the work and meetings of the NBU board, as well as performing any actions related to the execution of powers of the NBU deputy head and/or any other activities as the deputy head of the NBU until the dispute is essentially resolved," the ruling reads, reports Interfax Ukraine.

The ruling comes into force immediately and an appeal against the decision will not stop its execution.

The NBU said that it has not received the text of the ruling and so has not acted yet. Moreover, the NBU disputes the legality of the decision, which impinges on other laws ensuring the independence of the central bank.

"According to Part 2 of Article 157 of the Civil Procedure Code, the cautionary judgment cannot be executed until the court, which issued the relevant ruling, notifies the persons whom the ruling concerns. Thus, the NBU will consider the implementation of the decision after it is received from the court," the press service of the central bank said.

Tymoshenko has been an outspoken critic of the NBU and ramped up her rhetoric following interest rate hikes earlier this year to combat rising inflation, calling the decision a “criminal act.” Tymoshenko is currently leading in popularity polls, well ahead of President Petro Poroshenko, as Ukraine gears up for presidential elections in 2019.

Rozhkova is not scandal free. In October 2016 her house was searched by police investigating the shady bankruptcy of bank Mikhailovskyy and machinations in favour of Platinum Bank, which was previously managed by Rozhkova. No charges were brought against her.