On August 25, a hearing was held at the High Anti-Corruption Court on a motion to apply a preventive measure against Oleksiy Stupak, chairman of the board of the state-owned Sense Bank. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a broadcast of the court session. According to the prosecution, Stupak is implicated in a case that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) are handling as part of an investigation into the activities of a criminal organization, which, according to the investigation, may involve officials of the Office of the President, as well as current and former members of parliament.
Prosecution's position: arrest or 150 million hryvnia bail
At the hearing, a prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office asked the court to detain Oleksiy Stupak. The prosecution named the alternative to detention as the posting of bail in the amount of 150 million hryvnia. Thus, the court must choose between the strictest preventive measure and a security payment comparable to the amount that the investigation considers to have been laundered within the scheme.
Who is Oleksiy Stupak
Oleksiy Stupak took the helm of Sense Bank's board in February 2024. Before that, he worked in the banking sector for more than 20 years: according to available data, he served at Pravex Bank, Index Bank, and Credit Agricole Bank. He joined Sense Bank back in 2019, where he was in charge of the corporate business division. It was he, according to the investigation, who may have been used as a figure ensuring the flow of funds through the bank's accounts and those of affiliated companies.
The laundering scheme and the circle of suspects
According to the investigation, members of the group may have organized a scheme to launder 150 million hryvnia in cash: the money, according to the investigation, was brought in in sacks, after which it was processed through the accounts of Sense Bank and affiliated companies. Separately, the investigation is examining possible attempts to gain control over the bank, as well as possible interference in the competition for the head of the SAP position. Among the case's suspects, RBC-Ukraine sources named the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, member of parliament Vadym Stolyar, and former MP Maksym Nikityas. Notably, Iryna Mudra was not dismissed from her position.
Reaction from the authorities, the regulator, and the government
After the case materials were made public, the Verkhovna Rada summoned the head of the National Bank, Andriy Pyshnyi, to report on the situation around Sense Bank. On August 19, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to remove Oleksiy Stupak's counterpart, the chairman of the supervisory board of the state-owned Sense Bank, Mykola Hladyshenko, and simultaneously initiated the removal of the bank's board chairman, Oleksiy Stupak. These personnel decisions became part of the government's official reaction to the investigation's revelations.
Operation "Forrest Gump" and the question of influence over the bank
NABU and SAP also published fragments of conversations recorded as part of Operation "Forrest Gump," in which, in particular, there was talk of possible influence over the nationalized Sense Bank. These recordings, by the investigation's design, illustrate the mechanisms of pressure on the bank and attempts to control it by interested parties. The outcome of the consideration of the motion on the preventive measure for Stupak had not been announced at the time of preparing this material.
