Fed Chair Tricked by Russian Pranksters Posing as Zelenskyy

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during an interview by David Rubenstein, Chairman of the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. (Julia Nikhinson/Getty Images)

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell was tricked by a pair of Russian pranksters in January posing as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy via a phone call.

In a video shown on Russian state television, Powell, who thought he was speaking to Zelenskyy, answered several questions ranging from his outlook on inflation to the Russian central bank.

The 15-minute video segment consisted of several clips, and it is unclear if any footage was altered, reported Bloomberg.

Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, who call themselves Vovan and Lexus, have been tricking Western policymakers into talking with them for years by impersonating other world leaders.

The duo, who  are supporters of the Kremlin, have posted videos of their pranks with the intention of embarrassing their victims.

Russian Comedians’ Long History of Trolling Foreign Leaders

Five years ago, British authorities accused the pair of being behind a hoax against then-foreign secretary Boris Johnson.

Earlier this year, the pair had a conversation with Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), by also impersonating Zelenskiy.

“The president agreed to this conversation in good faith, also to demonstrate her support for Ukraine and its people defending themselves from Russia’s war of aggression,” an ECB spokesperson in response to their latest hoax.

The pair also pretended to be former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko in a call to Angela Merkel, the former German chancellor, where she admitted that the 2014 Minsk Agreement was a ruse to buy the Ukrainian government more time to rearm.

In November 2022, the prank callers fooled Polish president Andrzej Duda into believing he was speaking to French president Emmanuel Macron and got him to speak candidly about a missile incident that fall.

They had already duped Duda into thinking he was having a conversation with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in 2020.

Fed Chairman Unphased by Prank Phone Call

The Fed told Bloomberg that the video appears to have been edited, but it cannot confirm its accuracy.

“Chair Powell participated in a conversation in January with someone who misrepresented himself as the Ukrainian president,” said a Fed spokesperson on April 20.

“It was a friendly conversation and took place in a context of our standing in support of the Ukrainian people in this challenging time. No sensitive or confidential information was discussed.”

“The matter has been referred to appropriate law enforcement, and out of respect for their efforts, we won’t be commenting further,” added the spokesperson.

Despite the harmless outcome, the prank call to Powell will likely raise questions about security at the central bank.

The prank call received major coverage in Russian state media, which has previously aired the countless embarrassing episodes carried out by the pair.

The pair of comedians spoke about their latest escapade on their show, hosted by the Russian VK social network, reported Bloomberg, along with commentary from Viktor Bout, the notorious convicted arms dealer.