On August 19, NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced another special operation to expose high-level corruption. This time, they uncovered a criminal organization that was “laundering” tens of millions of hryvnias through the state-owned Sens Bank.
Current and former members of parliament, officials from the Office of the President, and other government employees may be involved in the scheme. As has become customary, NABU released excerpts from audio recordings of individuals believed to be implicated in the case.
The high-profile special operation was named “Forrest Gump.” It seems the detectives were inspired to such creativity by a remark recorded during a discussion about bail for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. One of the corrupt officials said: “We’ve got *Saving Private Ryan*, right? Well, only an idiot would put it on his kids’ heads—f**k—stealing money and paying for their education on top of that. That’s why it’s *Forest Gump*.”
For details on Operation “Forrest Gump,” the high-ranking officials from Bankova Street likely involved in this corruption scheme, and the unnamed mastermind—see the UA.News report.
Timeline of the Raids and Reactions to the Revelations
On the morning of August 19, investigators from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) conducted searches at the homes of People’s Deputy Vadym Stolar and Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra. Later, Stolar confirmed on social media that searches were indeed taking place at his residence.
Almost simultaneously, media outlets reported on searches at the Sens Bank headquarters, the surrounding area of which had been cordoned off by law enforcement. In particular, investigators arrived at the residence of Mykola Hladyshchenko, the suspended chairman of the supervisory board.
That same day, around 1:00 p.m., a decree was published on the president’s website dismissing Iryna Mudra from her position as deputy head of the Office of the President. Neither President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, nor the head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov, nor Mudra herself commented on the dismissal.
A few hours
later, the Verkhovna Rada responded to the NABU and SAPO investigations. The Rada decided to summon National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Governor Andriy Pyshnyy to provide explanations regarding the situation at the state-owned Sens Bank, through which the suspects allegedly organized the “laundering” of funds. People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak proposed summoning Pyshnyy, and 155 deputies voted in favor.
Later that evening, on August 19, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko reported that Iryna Mudra had been detained. The former official from the Office of the President is currently undergoing investigative procedures at NABU. According to him, Mudra will spend the night in a pretrial detention center.
Individuals Involved in the Case
NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have not directly named the officials who were notified of their status as suspects as part of the “Forest Gump” special operation. However, the media, citing their own sources, have identified who may be involved in the criminal scheme:
Iryna Mudra, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, who held this position from March 2024 to August 19, 2026. From 2022 to 2024, she served as Deputy Minister of Justice under Denys Malyuska, and from 2015 to 2022, she worked at Oschadbank. At the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra was responsible for judicial and legal reform, the creation of a special tribunal for the Russian Federation, and an international mechanism for compensating damages caused by Russian aggression.
People’s Deputy Vadym Stolar—a member of the “Restoration of Ukraine” parliamentary group, formerly of the Opposition Platform—For Life party, and the subject of journalistic investigations and reports on construction projects in Kyiv—was, according to media reports as of August 19, already outside Ukraine.
Former Member of Parliament Maksym Mykytas, who previously headed the “Ukrbud” corporation and was implicated in a number of anti-corruption investigations.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice.
Representatives of the state-owned Sens Bank.
Also, according to Ukrainian media reports, the case mentions businessman Vasyl Astion, who is suspected of raiding a number of companies. He is also referred to as Vadym Stolar’s “cashier” and a partner of former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Smyrnov. Furthermore, the media reports that Astion is responsible for paying for the services of Judge Vadym Bosoy on Stolar’s behalf.
Bail for Herman Galushchenko
The “Forest Gump” special operation aims to expose a scheme used by members of parliament and officials from Bankova Street to “launder” 150 million hryvnias. This money was then posted as bail for former Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko, who is implicated in the “Midas” case. As a reminder, at the end of June, three companies posted bail for the former top government official: Tetrass Optima LLC—54 million, Giran Contract LLC – 87 million, Skyt Retail LLC – 5 million, and Pellet Service LLC – 4 million hryvnias.
“We’re talking about 150 million hryvnias in cash, which, according to the investigation, was funneled through a series of accounts belonging to shell companies and brought into legal circulation to pay bail for one of the members of the criminal organization in the “Midas” case,” said NABU detective Mykhailo Romaniuk.
What exactly was happening behind the scenes is revealed by recordings of the suspects’ phone conversations, captured as part of the “Forest Gump” special operation. NABU has released some of the recordings of the intercepted conversations.
A “trusted associate of a former member of parliament” played an active role in the illegal cash-laundering scheme. According to the publication ZN.UA, this person is Maksym Mykytas. According to NABU’s data, the cash was transported in bags and “laundered” in installments.
The
first tranche—50 million hryvnias—was delivered to the former MP’s office and divided up. The former MP’s trusted associate received 15 million hryvnias. Another 35 million was transferred to the “laundry”—a money-conversion center. Subsequently, a second tranche—10 million—was delivered. The third tranche—70 million hryvnias—was divided into two parts: 20 million hryvnias went to the trusted associate, and 50 million went to the “laundromat.” The final tranche amounted to 20 million hryvnia. All these transactions were conducted “manually” to circumvent Financial Monitoring.
Another important point: NABU did not reveal the name of the scheme’s chief mastermind. “Every stage of the criminal plan was coordinated and controlled… by him,” emphasized NABU detective Mykhailo Romaniuk in a video presentation of the special operation’s results.
The
Organizers of Sens Bank and the “Israeli Fugitive”
As the details of the case reveal, the organizers of the corruption scheme took de facto control of the state-owned Sens Bank and then used it for their own interests. Top managers of the financial institution were drawn into the scheme.
In the released recordings, the suspects also discuss a visit by a man named David and an unnamed head of a parliamentary committee, who came separately and offered to act as a “protector” for Sens Bank.
In conversations recorded during the special operation, top officials also mention “Timur, the Israeli refugee.” As a reminder, in the “Midas” case, according to NABU, the coordinator of the large-scale corruption scheme was businessman Timur Mindich, who managed to flee to Israel.
Ukraine’s
request for the extradition of Timur Mindich remains unanswered. At the same time, as evident from the recordings, the suspect himself called the Office of the President and issued instructions on how to manage the state-owned Sens Bank in order to use it for corrupt schemes.
Previously, the possible influence of corrupt officials on the state-owned bank was mentioned in the so-called “Mindich tapes,” which were made public in May 2026. Those implicated in the NABU investigation discussed the appointment of members to Sens Bank’s supervisory board, who were supposed to ensure their control over the financial institution’s decisions. In particular, on May 9, 2025, an individual whom the investigation identified as a former advisor to Sens Bank’s supervisory board and, presumably, Vasyl Veselyi, who acted as the institution’s “overseer,” discussed the appointment of the bank’s supervisory board with Oleksandr Tsukerman. The latter appears in the “Midas” case as Timur Mindcha’s chief financier. Forty days after this conversation, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed all the individuals discussed by Veselyi and Zuckerman to the supervisory board.
What Was Found During the Searches
During the searches, NABU and the SAP uncovered an “anti-crisis” communications plan regarding the activities of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission. The document outlined a media strategy and talking points to address public outcry surrounding the Temporary Investigative Commission’s work.
Key objectives of the “anti-crisis” plan:
- Shield the president and the Cabinet of Ministers from public criticism.
- To disseminate prepared messages through loyal Telegram channels by gradually “leaking” insider information.
- Engaging national TV channels, in particular “Suspilne” and the telethon, Ukrainian media outlets (UP, NV, Liga.net, Lb.ua), and foreign publications (Politico, FT, The Economist).
The public speakers assigned roles in this media campaign should include: TSK Chair Serhiy Vlasenko, TSK members (lawmakers from various factions—as a “guarantee of pluralism”), legal experts (as a “neutral voice”), as well as representatives of pro-Western civil society organizations to simulate a broad public debate.
Sacks of Money and Control Over Corruption
Excerpts from audio recordings of alleged individuals involved in the case reveal the scale of embezzlement and a particular management approach that appears to be widespread among government officials at the highest levels of power. For example, in one episode, the individuals involved discuss “four bags” of money brought in for legalization.
At the end of the recording released by NABU, a woman’s voice—presumably that of Iryna Mudriy, the now-former deputy head of the Presidential Office—quotes someone’s words: “He says, ‘Corruption needs to be systematized and controlled; there’s no need to fight it.’ Her conversation partner adds, ‘And led.’”
With this excerpt, NABU investigators announced the next series of investigative reports.
