HACC has begun selecting a pre-trial restriction for Sense Bank head Stupak

On August 25, the High Anti-Corruption Court began considering a motion to apply a pre-trial restriction to Oleksii Stupak, Chairman of the Board of the state-owned Sense Bank. The banker appears in an investigation by NABU and SAPO related to the legalization of UAH 150 million to post bail for a defendant in the "Midas" case.

The consideration of the motion is being held in open session. The hearing is being broadcast on the official YouTube channel of the HACC. At the time of publication, the court had not yet announced its final decision regarding Stupak's pre-trial restriction.

Stupak is one of the defendants in NABU and SAPO's large-scale operation "Forrest Gump". Anti-corruption agencies reported it on August 19. According to the investigation, a group of individuals organized the legalization of UAH 150 million in cash obtained through criminal means in order to use those funds to post bail for one of the participants of another criminal organization being investigated under the "Midas" case.

This refers to bail for former Minister of Energy and Justice Herman Halushchenko. In late June, UAH 150 million was posted for him, after which the former minister was released from custody.

According to NABU and SAPO, accounts of controlled companies and the state-owned Sense Bank were used to move the funds. The investigation claims that in June, certain participants of the organization, in cooperation with representatives and officials of the bank, carried out the conversion of cash into non-cash form and its subsequent transfer to the HACC account.

Anti-corruption agencies stated that the group included, among others, a former member of parliament, a high-ranking official of the Presidential Office, the chairman of the board of a state bank, the head of its supervisory board, and others. The actions of the participants regarding the money episode were classified under Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - legalization of property obtained through criminal means.

Stupak's name was publicly mentioned on August 20 during the HACC's consideration of a motion to select a pre-trial restriction for former member of parliament Maksym Mykytas. A SAPO prosecutor at that time named Sense Bank representatives among the defendants in the case: Stupak, former supervisory board chairman Mykola Hladychenko, and head of the bank's department Liudmyla Snihur.

After the publication of the "Forrest Gump" materials, the situation around the management of the state bank developed further. The government initiated Stupak's removal, and Hladychenko's powers were subsequently terminated.

Separately, the National Bank reported that it had already initiated administrative proceedings in May regarding Stupak's professional fitness. He was invited to attend a meeting of the NBU qualification commission on August 26 for an interview and a final decision in this procedure.

It is noted that the circumstances set out by NABU and SAPO are the prosecution's version. The guilt of the defendants can only be established by a final court verdict.

Based on materials from: High Anti-Corruption Court, NABU