NABU investigation: new recordings of conversations released, suspects discuss influence on state bodies (Updated)
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have revealed new details of the special operation "Forrest Gump". According to the investigation, a group involving a high-ranking official from the Office of the President, a former people's deputy and heads of a state bank organized the legalization of UAH 150 million in cash for the bail of one of the suspects in the "Midas" case.
The start of the large-scale operation by NABU and SAPO was reported on the morning of August 19. Initially, the Bureau only stated that it was exposing a criminal organization which, according to the investigation, operated under the leadership of current and former people's deputies with the participation of high-ranking officials from the Office of the President and other individuals.
People's Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko stated that investigative actions are being carried out with respect to Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra. Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported on investigative actions related to People's Deputy and developer Vadym Stolar. ZN.UA also wrote that the materials involve former People's Deputy Maksym Mykytas, officials from the Ministry of Justice and representatives of the state-owned Sense Bank.
NABU has not officially named all suspects in the operation by surname, so information about specific individuals released by deputies and the media currently needs to be separately distinguished from the officially established circumstances of the investigation.
NABU reveals the essence of the "Forrest Gump" operation
Later, the Bureau released an extended video of the "Forrest Gump" operation with recordings of conversations and an explanation of the investigation's version.
NABU stated that the group organized and ensured the legalization of funds which, according to detectives, were obtained by criminal means. This refers to UAH 150 million in cash, which was to be introduced into legal circulation through the accounts of a number of companies and used to post bail for one of the members of the criminal organization in the "Midas" case.
In the video itself, NABU does not name the group's participants by name, but indicates their positions: Deputy Head of the Office of the President, former People's Deputy, Chairman of the Management Board of a state bank, Chairman of its Supervisory Board and other individuals.
According to the Bureau's version, to implement the plan the group used a state bank and accounts of controlled enterprises. NABU claims that in early June the organizers gained actual control over the bank, after which they could use it to conduct the necessary operations.
From procedural materials previously released by people's deputies, it follows that this refers to Sense Bank. Oleksiy Honcharenko also published a fragment of a document in which the investigation claims that unidentified individuals from the Office of the President allegedly tasked Iryna Mudra to bring the state bank under the control of the OP.
Sense Bank and bail for Galushchenko involved in the case
A separate major episode of the "Forrest Gump" operation concerns the state-owned Sense Bank and UAH 150 million bail for a suspect in the "Midas" case. According to NABU, to legalize the funds the scheme participants used a state bank, accounts of controlled companies and conversion centers.
In a new video, the Bureau claims that in early June the scheme organizers gained actual control over the bank. The operational recordings also discuss the conduct of large payments and a possible mechanism to bypass financial monitoring through a temporary "window", during which the operation could pass without manual review.
NABU does not name all participants by surname in the video. At the same time, in procedural documents released by people's deputies, this episode involves officials from the Office of the President and heads of Sense Bank, and the payment of funds is linked to bail for former Minister of Energy and Justice Herman Halushchenko.
Kurs Ukrainy has analyzed in detail the scheme with Sense Bank, the movement of funds for bail, the role of intermediary companies and how, according to the investigation, they may have tried to bypass banking financial monitoring.
NABU claims attempts to promote controlled individuals
New recordings reveal another direction of the investigation that is not directly related to bail.
NABU stated that detectives recorded facts of possible interference with the aim of promoting controlled individuals to the Bureau and other law enforcement and state bodies.
In one fragment, the interlocutors discuss the elections to the Public Control Council at NABU and the possibility of mobilizing votes in support of certain candidates.
Then there is a discussion of the need to create their own "personnel reserve" of people who could be promoted to positions in state structures. Among the bodies mentioned in the conversations are the Bureau of Economic Security, the customs service and the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.
NABU presents these fragments as materials obtained during the investigation. However, the Bureau has released only part of the recordings, so the full context of each conversation remains unknown.
During searches, a communication plan around the TSC was found
Another episode of the operation was the discovery during searches of a document entitled "Breaking point of the discussion on anti-corruption infrastructure. Anti-crisis plan".
As reported by NABU, the document contains specific communication steps and messages regarding the public situation around the activities of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada.
Among the proposed communication channels in the document, Telegram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, television, talk shows, Ukrainian and international media are mentioned. In particular, "Ukrainska Pravda", NV, Liga.net, LB.ua, Politico, Euractiv, Financial Times and The Economist are named, as well as anti-corruption organizations and media projects.
The plan proposed positioning the TSC's work as an "audit, not an attack", presenting information in parts and emphasizing cooperation between institutions.
The Chairman of the TSC, Serhiy Vlasenko, was assigned the role of the main public communicator. Other commission members were to demonstrate political pluralism, and experts and NGOs were to act as "neutral voices".
Separately, the document's authors recommended not putting the president and the government "on the front line" of communication. Among the expected results were positioning the TSC as a "central body of trust" and creating an impression among international partners of a systemic and controlled process.
NABU has not yet reported who exactly created this document, who owned it and for whom it was prepared. Its discovery during a search also does not in itself prove that the actions described in the plan were implemented or that the media or NGOs mentioned in it knew about the existence of the document.
Investigation ongoing
The released materials have significantly expanded the initial information about the "Forrest Gump" operation. Now the investigation states not only the participation of people's deputies and officials from the Office of the President, but also a scheme for the legalization of UAH 150 million, the use of a state bank, a possible bypass of financial monitoring and attempts to form a network of influence in state bodies.
At the same time, some of the names are currently known only from reports by people's deputies and media sources. NABU has not released a full list of suspects and has not identified all participants in the recorded conversations.
The guilt of specific individuals can only be established by a court conviction.
