Budanov comments for first time on mentions of his name in NABU recordings
Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov for the first time commented on the mention of his name in the materials of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in the case of his former deputy Iryna Mudra. Asked about these mentions, he said that conclusions should be made by the court. At the same time, in the motion materials analyzed by hromadske, an official of the Office of the President named "Kyrylo" appears, who, according to the recordings of conversations, was allegedly approached by Timur Mindich regarding Sense Bank and other issues.
Budanov commented on the situation to Espreso correspondent.
Asked about his name being mentioned in the recordings, the Head of the Office of the President replied: "Let the court figure it out... You know, it is heard in many places."
Budanov also confirmed that he communicated with Mudra after her dismissal from the position.
"First, dismissal is a legal process. Second, I have never turned away from people until final conclusions are made. If the court concludes that she is guilty, that is another question", he said.
What is known about the mentions of Budanov in the case materials
President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Iryna Mudra from the position of Deputy Head of the Office of the President on 19 August. Later, the High Anti-Corruption Court placed her in custody for 60 days with the possibility of bail in the amount of 20 million hryvnias.
NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office suspect Mudra of participation in a criminal organization, as well as in a number of episodes related to raiding and money laundering. The guilt of the suspect has not been established by a court.
Hromadske reviewed the materials of the motion regarding a preventive measure for Mudra. According to the publication, in the documents there appears another unnamed public official of the Office of the President, whom participants of the recorded conversations mostly call "Kyrylo" or "Kyrylo Oleksiyovych".
The interlocutors of hromadske suggest that this refers to Kyrylo Budanov. In addition, the surname of the Head of the Office of the President is directly found in certain fragments of the motion materials.
"Mindich turned to Kyrylo"
One of the episodes concerns the state-owned Sense Bank.
According to the investigation, on 8 June, Mudra, during a conversation with former people's deputy Maksym Mykytas, relayed the conversation of Timur Mindich with an unnamed official of the Office of the President named Kyrylo.
As follows from the materials cited by hromadske, Mindich allegedly proposed to this official to take control over Sense Bank, speaking about significant financial "flows" through the bank.
The next day, according to the motion materials, Mudra told Mykytas: "Mindich turned to Kyrylo"
- and again discussed the possibility of taking control over the bank.
On 10 June, according to the investigation's version, Mudra together with the unnamed official of the Office of the President met with the management of Sense Bank. NABU believes that after this meeting, the management of the institution agreed to work under their unofficial control.
The bank itself previously announced personnel decisions in connection with the investigation. At the same time, the circumstances presented by NABU remain the investigation's version and should receive an assessment in court.
Bail for Galushchenko
Another large block of materials concerns 150 million hryvnias used to post bail for former Minister of Energy and Justice Herman Galushchenko, a suspect in the "Midas" case.
According to the investigation's version, Timur Mindich no later than 8 June turned to an unnamed official of the Office of the President with a request to help with Galushchenko's release from custody.
The investigation claims that in order to pay the bail of 150 million hryvnias in cash, the money had to be laundered through a number of companies and banking operations. Over 131 million hryvnias, according to the case materials, were deposited into bank accounts, after which by 29 June the entire bail for Galushchenko was posted.
Hromadske draws attention to the conversation on 29 June, when Mudra allegedly added an unnamed "Kyrylo Oleksiyovych" to a phone conversation with Mykytas. In the protocol of this conversation, according to the publication, it is explicitly stated that "Budanov K.O." took part in it.
During this conversation, the official thanked Mykytas for the work done, after which the latter raised the issue of compensation for the costs related to the organization of financial operations. The amount was 7.5 million hryvnias.
The recordings also contain another mention of Budanov's surname
The motion materials also include a conversation between Mudra and Mykytas about corruption. Earlier, in a video published by NABU, the name of Mudra's interlocutor was concealed.
According to the full fragment cited by hromadske, Mudra said that she came to tell Budanov about the situation. Then she relayed the words that, allegedly, corruption should not be fought, but "controlled".
It is important that these words are a relay by Mudra in a recorded conversation, not a direct recording of the corresponding statement by Budanov. The Head of the Office of the President has so far not commented in detail on the authenticity of specific episodes presented in the investigation materials.
What NABU says
NABU officially reported that it is investigating the activities of a criminal organization, which, according to the investigation, involved current and former people's deputies, high-ranking officials of the Office of the President, and other persons.
Among the episodes cited by the Bureau were misappropriation of real estate through interference in state registers and falsification of documents, as well as laundering of 150 million hryvnias in cash to post bail for one of the defendants in the "Midas" operation.
NABU did not name Budanov among the suspects in its official statement. The information published by hromadske comes from the materials of the court motion and the recordings of conversations, which are part of the evidentiary basis of the investigation. The final assessment of these materials is to be made by the court.
