NBU audits Sense Bank over possible interference in Halushchenko’s bail collateral
The National Bank is conducting unscheduled inspections of the state-owned Sense Bank to determine whether officials interfered with its automated system during operations related to the deposit of UAH 150 million bail for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
The NBU reported this in answers to questions from the head of the temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, regarding the situation around Sense Bank.
According to the regulator, the inspections should establish the circumstances of possible interference in the bank's automated system, find out whether management gave relevant instructions to employees, and also assess compliance with legislation on financial monitoring when carrying out transactions with bail funds.
The NBU stressed that it is premature to assert that Sense Bank's financial monitoring system was not working. However, the published investigation materials indicate that its participants discussed ways to bypass control mechanisms, including interference with the operation and disabling of automated systems.
“Who exactly, when, and in what illegal way managed to bypass it should be established by the inspections,” the National Bank stated.
The regulator separately noted that the NBU itself does not have access to the automated systems of commercial and state-owned banks, does not manage them, and does not grant permission for conducting or blocking individual client operations. The bank is directly obliged to check clients' operations, establish their economic purpose, identify suspicious transactions, and suspend them if necessary.
The inspections were prompted by new materials from NABU and SAPO in the Forest Gump operation. On August 19, anti-corruption authorities announced that certain members of a criminal organization, together with representatives and officials of one of the state-owned banks, organized the laundering of UAH 150 million in cash in June.
According to NABU, the money was introduced into legal circulation through accounts of shell companies to post bail for one of the participants of another criminal organization investigated in the Midas case. The bureau’s official statement did not name this person.
However, on June 29, the full UAH 150 million bail was posted for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, a suspect in the Midas case. Previously the HACC reduced the amount from UAH 200 million to UAH 150 million.
According to data published by Zhelezniak citing investigation materials, UAH 50 million was transferred to the account of the High Anti-Corruption Court directly from accounts at Sense Bank: UAH 46 million from LLC "Hiran Construct" and UAH 4 million from LLC "Pelet Service". Another part of the cash flow related to the bail passed through companies that had accounts at this bank.
Sense Bank itself appears in the investigation materials as one of the channels for the movement of funds. NABU also reported that among the participants in the identified group were the Chairman of the Management Board and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the state-owned bank.
Against the backdrop of the publication of the investigation materials, the NBU has already made a number of decisions regarding the management of Sense Bank. The regulator found the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Mykola Hladishenko, not to meet the requirements for independence and demanded that the state as shareholder terminate his powers.
In addition, the National Bank launched an administrative proceeding to assess the collective suitability of the entire Supervisory Board. According to the regulator, the materials published by NABU may indicate that Hladishenko’s formal recusal from management did not rule out his continued influence on the bank's operations.
A separate proceeding is ongoing against the Chairman of the Management Board of Sense Bank, Oleksiy Stupak. He was summoned to a meeting of the NBU's qualification commission on August 26 for an interview on professional suitability. The National Bank also supported the government’s initiative to suspend Stupak from office during the internal investigation.
The NBU intends to draw final conclusions on whether there was interference in Sense Bank's automated system and who could have issued instructions to bypass financial monitoring after completing the unscheduled inspections. The regulator plans to share and take into account the materials received in cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
