Mudra was released from pretrial detention: Who posted her bail, and what is known about these people?

Iryna Mudra, former deputy head of the Office of the President, was released from pretrial detention on bail of 20 million hryvnias. Suspected of money laundering and corporate raiding, and a defendant in the “Forest Gump” and “Themis” cases, she spent a month and a half in custody. Throughout this time, efforts were made to raise and post the required bail amount for Mudra. This, in the end, attracted no less attention than the fact of her arrest itself.

In Ukraine, the law does not require banks to verify the origin of bail money in corruption cases before a corrupt official is released from pretrial detention. But the “Forest Gump” special operation by NABU and the SAPO set a precedent of sorts for banks.

NABU and the SAP uncovered a scheme to launder corrupt funds that had been deposited as bail for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. At the time, the state-owned Sens Bank and its top managers found themselves at the center of the scandal; some of them were jailed on suspicion of money laundering. And NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy was summoned to Parliament to provide explanations.

Following the high-profile investigation, banks were afraid to accept money of dubious origin as bail. They feared they, too, might be subject to audits. Ultimately, the required bail amount was raised thanks to nearly two dozen individuals and a private company. It is worth noting that information about the bail guarantors is officially classified. The “Schemes” project obtained the list from its own sources.

For more details on the individuals who helped Iryna Mudra get out of pretrial detention, see the UA.News article.

Bail for Mudra: 20 million instead of 150 
 

On August 25, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered that Iryna Mudra either be detained for 60 days or post bail in the amount of 20 million hryvnias. Although the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office initially insisted on a significantly higher amount—150 million hryvnias. 

On September 2, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court upheld the decision.

It was not possible to raise the entire bail amount immediately. According to the defense, as of early October, nearly 13 million hryvnias had been deposited into the court’s account. Mudra’s attorney, Pavlo Goncharenko, stated that banks refused to process payments or did not consider the relevant requests without providing any explanation.

The defense also announced its intention to seek the lifting of the seizure of Mudra’s property so that it could be sold and the proceeds used toward the bail.

Ultimately, the required 20 million hryvnias were contributed by several dozen individuals and companies. The list included a singer, a debtor of Kyivteploenergo, a cleaning lady convicted of theft, and a meat-trading firm. 

“There are some interesting characters there. But considering that among the guarantors is a woman convicted of stealing gaming consoles… there’s a strong sense that perhaps this time, the task of raising the bail was entrusted to Galushchenko? Well, he’s already done it as best he could—through his former cellmates, who are on probation)))”, commented People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak on social media regarding the list of guarantors for Iryna Mudra.

Nearly half the amount came from Mudra and her common-law husband
 

Iryna Mudra herself made the largest contribution to the bail—5,937,000 UAH. Another 4,400,000 UAH was transferred in two installments by her common-law husband, Pavlo Polyarus.

In their 2023 financial disclosure statements, they are listed as individuals who live together but are not officially married. Together, the two provided more than half of the required amount.

Pavlo Polyarus has worked in the banking sector for nearly 15 years. In April 2023, he became head of the National Bank of Ukraine’s Department for Problem Assets. He had previously held this position from 2019 to 2021.

From 2021 to 2023, Polyarus served as an advisor on international cooperation at the Ministry for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, as well as an advisor to the Deputy Minister of Defense on logistics and cooperation with suppliers. Prior to that, he worked for seven years at Pravex Bank, including in management positions related to credit control and non-performing loans. He also has experience working at Universal Bank, ProCredit Bank, and Diamant Bank.

Polyarush’s
name had previously appeared in the media in connection with a conflict involving Belarusian volunteer Andriy Tratsetsky, whose call sign was “Immortal.” The incident occurred in September 2024 on a road near one of the capital’s residential complexes. The soldier claimed that Pavlo Polyarus, the drunk head of the NBU’s Department for Problem Assets, “jumped in front of the car, blocked traffic, started a fight, and said he would shoot his legs with his service weapon.” 

According to Tratshevsky, Polyarus allegedly claimed that he would “buy everyone off” and told law enforcement officers that “all Belarusian volunteers will either go back to Belarus or kneel in Pokrovsk.”

Later, media outlets reported that NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy had secured the dismissal of the criminal case under Article 129 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, “Threat of Murder,” which had been filed in connection with the incident. The only charge remaining against the National Bank official is a citation for drunk driving.

Information appeared in the media, citing a comment from the Darnytskyi Police Department in Kyiv, regarding the closure of the criminal case following a request by Andriy Tratsetskyi. On social media, Tratsetskyi also confirmed that the situation had been resolved.

“We settled things like men, shook hands, found common ground to help the army—the conflict is over!” he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Journalistic investigations also suggest that the NBU official likely has undeclared assets and a hidden business that was initially registered under his 70-year-old mother’s name. He does not pay taxes on the business and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a country house and cars. He gets away with this, which raises questions about possible protection from NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy.

Interestingly, in 2021, Polyarus declared a 2017 Lexus RX 200T valued at 51,000 320, which is registered to Karina Oleksandrivna Shatrova—the daughter of his common-law wife, Iryna Mudra. This is the very same Lexus in which Polyarus got into a fight with a military servicemember in September 2024, and, according to media reports, he was the one who purchased it, simply registering it under his stepdaughter’s name.

The singer’s contribution: 2.4 million UAH 

 

Another 2.4 million UAH on Mudra’s behalf was contributed by 35-year-old Maria Skaballanovich—a singer and songwriter originally from Dnipro who currently lives in Odesa. The media has mentioned her performances at music competitions, particularly in Israel.

Her husband, Oleksandr Froymovich, is the owner of the Odesa-based company “Fortis Rights,” which was registered quite recently—in August 2026. The company’s primary business activity is the purchase and sale of its own real estate.

According to information cited in the article, Froymovich also acted as a guarantor in the case known as the Kaufman–Borokhovich case, which concerned the illegal seizure of the “Odesa” International Airport.

In 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea agreement between the defendants and the prosecution in this case. According to published reports, they received suspended sentences, agreed to return 150 million hryvnias and property to the Odesa community, and to pay a fine of over 400 million hryvnias.

The Pledgers’
  Joint Business

Another contribution to the bail—700,000 UAH—was made by Mykola Kuznets. The connection between him and Maria Skaballanovich can be traced through the Odesa-based company “Ukrremmotorservice.” Skaballanovich is the owner of the company, which was registered in June 2025, and Kuznets is its director.

 

In addition, he heads the company “Capital Residences,” established on September 4, 2026.

According to data provided by journalists from “Schemes,” the first owner of “Capital Residences” until mid-September was Volodymyr Lapiy. The court registry contains a record of a 2025 conviction of a person with the same first and last name in a case involving the smuggling of funds. 

Nearly one million hryvnias from a meat-trading
  company

The company “Maltex-M,” registered in Lutsk, transferred 990,000 hryvnias to Mudra in two installments. The company’s listed business activities include general wholesale trade, as well as the wholesale trade of meat and meat products. According to its financial statements, the company’s business has been on the rise since 2024. 

The company is owned by Serhiy Ososov, the former husband of Iryna Ososova, an employee of the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Kyiv.

According to the information provided in the materials, the official continues to declare her ex-husband and their child, but does not list the company “Maltex-M” or Sergey Ososov’s income or savings.
 

Who else transferred money: a long list of individuals

 

Among other depositors, journalists identified several individuals whose contributions amounted to approximately 692,000 UAH each.

Vladislav Galkin transferred 692,359 UAH. According to YouControl, he heads “Worktime,” a company operating in the field of accounting, auditing, and tax consulting; “Codelink,” a company involved in computer programming; and “Rintes,” which deals with real estate transactions. He is also listed as the founder and beneficial owner of the first two companies.

According to “Schemes,” a man with the same first and last name appeared in court documents regarding utility bill arrears, as well as in a robbery case in which he was the victim. Journalists also found in databases a resume belonging to a person with the exact same full name, photo, and phone number, who in 2024 was looking for work as a cleaner, dishwasher, or in other fields.

In addition, the databases contained applications for microloans totaling approximately 5,000 UAH. When journalists asked Galkin about his motives for posting bail for Mudra, he replied, “I just made some money off of it.” When asked to specify the amount he earned, he said 500 UAH.

Kateryna Zheglova contributed another 692,359 hryvnias. According to YouControl, she is the founder and beneficial owner of the company “Mira Trade” in Kramatorsk.

In 2025, Zheglova was involved in two court cases: in one, “Kyivteploenergo” sought to collect a debt, and the other involved a theft charge. According to court records, in April 2025, while working as a cleaner, she removed five Nintendo gaming consoles with a total value of approximately 44,500 UAH from the Ubisoft Ukraine office. The court found her guilty and sentenced her to five years in prison, suspending the sentence with a two-year probation period.

Svitlana Chaika paid nearly the same amount—692,350 UAH. According to YouControl, she is the founder and head of five companies in Kyiv and Kharkiv, and also operates a sole proprietorship in the field of insurance agents and brokers.

In the court registry, journalists found a 2022 verdict concerning a woman with the same last name who was tried for stealing a baby stroller worth 1,100 UAH. According to the case file, she and her husband took the stroller from the building’s entrance and pawned it for 200 UAH. The court sentenced her to three years in prison. 

Eight people transferred nearly identical amounts on the same day
 

Particular attention is drawn to a group of pawnbrokers who deposited nearly identical amounts—395,600 UAH each. According to “Schemes,” eight people made the payments on the same day.

Among them are Natalia Glazacheva, Oksana Goncharuk, Andriy Trofimchuk, Kostyantyn Yakovets, and Valeriy Voronin. In this same group, journalists mention Vladislav Galkin, Kateryna Zheglova, and Svitlana Chaika, whose contributions amounted to approximately 692,000 UAH each.

In addition, the list of pledgers includes:

L. O. Antonova — 350,000 and 300,000 UAH;

Oksana Goncharuk — 395,600 UAH;

Andriy Trofimchuk — 395,600 UAH;

Kostyantyn Yakovets — 395,600 UAH;

Natalia Glazacheva — 395,600 UAH;

Valerii Voronin — 395,600 UAH;

G. V. Shchekochikhina — 200,000 and 100,000 UAH;

T. V. Sinitsyna — 290,000 UAH;

D. V. Bugay — 200,000 UAH;

A. L. Smyk — 131,000 UAH.

In total, these contributions amount to over 3.5 million UAH. The nearly identical amounts, transferred on the same day, indicate that the payments were coordinated. This also resembles the situation involving the posting of bail for defendants in the “Midas” case regarding large-scale embezzlement at Energoatom and the Ministry of Defense. In November 2025, NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme coordinated by top government officials and officials from the Office of the President.  At that time, seven suspects were notified of the charges against them, including businessman Timur Mindich.

What is known about the “Forest Gump” and “Themis” special operations, in which Mudra is implicated 
 

On August 19, NABU and the SAP announced the dismantling of a criminal organization that included top officials from Bankova Street, former members of parliament, and others. Through the state-owned Sens Bank, the suspects organized the laundering of 150 million hryvnias. This money was deposited as bail for former Minister Herman Halushchenko, who was arrested as part of Operation “Midas.”

 NABU and the SAP notified MP Vadym Stolar, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudriy, former MP Maksym Mykytas, and other suspects of their status as defendants in the criminal proceedings. Among the suspects were:

 Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Ferens.

 Viktor Dubovyk, Director General of the Directorate for Legal Policy at the Office of the President.

 Vasyl Astion, a businessman and former member of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council.

 Former chairs of the supervisory board and management board of the state-owned Sens Bank, Mykola Hladyshenko and Oleg Stupak.

 Lyudmyla Snigur, Head of a Department at the state-owned Sens Bank.

 Also included are individuals associated with Mykyta: Valentin Yelizarov, Yegor Merkulov, Oleksandr Ostapenko, and Mykyta Tarkovsky.

 According to investigators, in early June, the participants in the scheme gained de facto control over Sens Bank and began using it to launder funds. They were notified of their status as suspects under Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—laundering of funds obtained by criminal means.

 On August 20, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced a follow-up to this case—the “Themis” special operation. Investigators determined that members of the Verkhovna Rada, high-ranking officials from the Office of the President, and the Ministry of Justice had organized a large-scale corporate raiding scheme.

 With the help of hackers, the suspects hacked into state registries, forged documents, and interfered with the courts’ work in order to seize enterprises and real estate worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias.

 On August 21, the High Anti-Corruption Court remanded former MP Maksym Mykytas, who is suspected of corruption, into custody with a possible bail set at 30 million hryvnias.

 On August 22, Iryna Mudra was sent to a pretrial detention center. The High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on her—detention with the possibility of bail set at 20 million hryvnias.

 On September 11, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on businessman and Member of Parliament Vadym Stolar in the form of bail set at 300 million hryvnias. Following the court’s decision, Stolar stated that he was in Ukraine and had arrived in person to participate in the hearing on the motion to impose a preventive measure on him.