PARLIAMENTARY TEMPORARY INVESTIGATIVE COMMISSION: ILLEGAL BAIL DEPOSITS AND MONEY LAUNDERING THROUGH STATE BANKS

Context

On 19 August, NABU and SAPO exposed a criminal organization involving former Member of Parliament Maksym Mykytas, along with senior Presidential Office officials Iryna Mudra (Deputy Head) and Viktor Dubovyk (Director General of the Legal Policy Department), among others.

The group seized high-value real estate and other corporate assets by hacking into the Ministry of Justice’s information systems and faking court rulings and property-title documents. In June 2026, members of the group also conspired with officials at state-owned Sense Bank to launder UAH 150 million in cash, used to post bail for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko – a co-defendant in the “Midas” case.

The case highlighted with unprecedented force the problems of posting bail using funds of questionable origin to release suspects from custody, money laundering through state banks, as well as corporate governance problems in Ukraine.

On 02 September the meeting of the Parliamentary Temporary Commission chaired by Yaroslav Zhelezniak and Anastasia Radina was held. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the National Bank of Ukraine, Sense Bank, Financial Monitoring Service and others have been present to discuss issues regarding the money laundering through the bank, influence on the members of the Supervisory Board and the next steps expected to survive the crisis. 

KEY FINDINGS

1. Undermining Corporate Governance in Ukraine: Political Interference in “Independent” Supervisory Board Selection and Subsequent Manual Control of the Bank

• Political pressure in Supervisory board candidates selection
  Amrop, a recruitment company, was tasked with selecting board members for state-owned Sense Bank. According to the company director, Mykola Gladyshenko initially failed to make the shortlist because his qualifications were rated lower than other candidates. However, Iryna Mudra called the recruitment company and requested they reconsider additional candidates, including Gladyshenko. Gladyshenko was subsequently selected and became board chairman.
• Moreover, the Ministry of Finance opposed Gladyshenko’s nomination to the Sense Bank board. The ministry cited the same concerns as the recruitment company: insufficient experience and a prior position at Delta Bank, which had collapsed. 

Intimidation forcing candidate withdrawal

• Eva de Falk, a candidate selected by the Amrop for the Supervisory board, initially ranked among the top scorers and was approved by both the nomination committee and the Government. However, she later withdrew her candidacy without explaining her reasons. The Temporary investigative commission has information that de Falk was allegedly told the National Bank of Ukraine would not approve her appointment. For a foreign citizen, NBU rejection would negatively affect her banking career not only in Ukraine but internationally.

2. Issues of Posting Bail Using Funds of Questionable Origin and Weaknesses in Banking Control

• Bohdan Korolchuk, Deputy Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service, noted that more than 20 banks were involved in posting bail for Herman Halushchenko, including 4 state banks: Sense, Oschadbank, Privatbank, and Ukrgazbank. Approximately 85 accounts were opened through these banks to channel the bail funds.
• This issue is widespread. Millions of hryvnias are posted as bail for top officials from accounts of companies that have no formal connection to these individuals. These are unknown firms with questionable business activities. Their founders and directors often cannot explain what their companies actually do or why they suddenly decided to post millions in bail for suspects. 
• According to the investigation, bypassing the financial monitoring system became possible through the involvement of bank management. Members of the criminal organization reportedly waited for so-called “windows” from the financial monitoring service to conduct payments and avoid detection.

The Financial Monitoring Service, in its current configuration, lacks the capacity for proper control

• Questions also remain regarding the Financial Monitoring Service leadership. The agency is headed by Filip Pronin, who is from the circle of Andriy Ermak, and the civil society is demanding his dismissal. The absence of control over legalized cash and the depositing of millions of hryvnias through banks as bail became possible in part due to the inaction of the Financial Monitoring Service. 

3. What to expect further 

• According to the Temporary Investigative Commission, the Head of the Sense Bank and the head of the financial monitoring department cannot be officially removed because the Supervisory Board lacks the authority to do so (there are insufficient members; the recruitment process is ongoing). However, they have been suspended from their positions. Internal departmental investigations at Sense Bank are ongoing.