Galushchenko May End Up Back in Pretrial Detention Over the Forest Gump Case
Former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko may face a return to pretrial detention if the 150 million hryvnia bail posted on his behalf is deemed to be proceeds of crime and confiscated as state revenue. This stems from the “Forest Gump” special operation conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), in which law enforcement is investigating a scheme to launder funds used to post bail for a suspect in the “Midas” case.
This scenario is likely if the 150 million hryvnias previously posted on his behalf are deemed proceeds of crime and confiscated, according to an article by “Ukrainska Pravda” journalist Mykhailo Tkach titled “Forest Gump.” “How the President’s Office Once Again ‘Ran Into’ a Major Corruption Scandal.”
If Galushchenko ends up behind bars, the author notes, the authorities will once again face the question of finding funds for bail for the former minister—a defendant in the “Midas” case—and schemes to launder those funds.
In a conversation between former MP Maksym Mykytas and businessman Vasyl Astion, which was read aloud during a court hearing by a prosecutor from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), Mykitas asks Astion if he has “200 million in non-cash form,” to which his interlocutor replied in the negative.
“Well, you understand, I’m not asking you; I’ll reimburse you right away with a good interest rate. That is, I’ll deposit it if they bring it,” says Mykytas, and Astion assures him that he’ll take care of everything.
Then the former member of parliament says:
“Well, they brought 200 million for Herman; now we’re figuring out how to pay for it. Just please don’t tell anyone—not Vadik, don’t tell anyone right now.”
When Astion asks where the money should be “funneled,” he replies:
“It’ll have to go through me; I’ll tell you where to pay it. They’ll pass it on to you there. You can handle it, right?”
Astion clarifies that they need to “make” 100 or 200 million.
“200. That’s exactly how I asked you. So they’ll hand it over to you somewhere in Kyiv, and everything’s fine?” — Mykytas replies.
Tkach points out the amount of 200 million that was initially collected, although the bail was later reduced to 150 million.
“This may indicate that once the state machinery is set in motion, finding an extra 50 million hryvnias is no problem at all. The only question is whether the back-office teams of people connected in one way or another to the government will have enough resources if NABU and SAPO continue to expose corruption in the highest echelons of power, and the number of allegations and the amounts of bail will only continue to rise,” the journalist notes.
Earlier, the Rada summoned the head of the NBU due to the mention of Sense Bank in the “Forest Gump” operation.
NABU has revealed the first details of the dismantling of a criminal group as part of the “Forest Gump” special operation.
As a reminder, searches are being conducted at Sense Bank as part of an anti-corruption special operation by NABU and the SAP.
NABU and the SAP announced a special operation to expose a criminal organization which, according to preliminary data, operated under the leadership of current and former members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and with the participation of high-ranking officials from the Office of the President and other individuals.
As part of the “Forest Gump” anti-corruption operation, searches are also being conducted at the residence of Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the Office of the President.
NABU and the SAPO have released wiretap recordings in connection with the “Forest Gump” anti-corruption operation.
