Former head of supervisory board of Sense Bank said he was against Stupak's candidacy for head of financial institution
Former chairman of the supervisory board of state-owned Sense Bank, Shevki Adzhuner, said he did not support Oleksiy Stupak's candidacy for the position of chairman of the board of the bank. According to him, he was wary of Stupak's ties with the bank under previous owners and the lack, in his opinion, of leadership qualities necessary for a future head.
Adzhuner said this on September 10 during a meeting of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada headed by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
Answering questions about the circumstances of Stupak's appointment, Adzhuner said that he was not among the candidates he preferred.
The first reason he cited was that Stupak had worked at the bank before its nationalization and remained part of the management team from the time of previous owners.
"He was, so to speak, a legacy from the previous owners. And I thought that some skeletons in the closet would come out with him and manifest in the decisions he would make", Adzhuner said.
The second caveat was the candidate's managerial qualities.
"I did not think he had the leadership qualities that would be useful for the future of the bank", said the former head of the supervisory board.
According to Adzhuner, he eventually agreed to Stupak's appointment "with a heavy heart" and emphasized that he "was not the first" on his list of candidates.
At the same time, Adzhuner acknowledged that at that moment it was difficult to find a strong external candidate to head the bank. Potential managers would need to leave stable positions and move to an institution that had recently undergone nationalization. According to him, Stupak already had experience in corporate governance.
Who is Oleksiy Stupak
Oleksiy Stupak has worked in the banking sector for over 20 years. He began his career at Pravex Bank, then worked for over ten years in leadership positions at Credit Agricole Bank.
Stupak joined what was then Alfa-Bank, later renamed Sense Bank, in 2019—four years before nationalization. He headed corporate business, and later was responsible for corporate and investment direction, small and medium business.
At the end of 2023, the supervisory board elected him chairman of the board. The bank then stated that the competition was held with the participation of international recruiting company Odgers Berndtson, and more than 30 candidates were considered for the position.
In February 2024, Stupak's candidacy was approved by the National Bank of Ukraine.
What questions currently exist for Stupak
Currently, Stupak is one of the suspects in the high-profile NABU and SAPO investigation "Forest Gump" related to the use of state-owned Sense Bank.
According to NABU, certain members of the criminal organization, in conspiracy with representatives and officials of the state bank, organized the legalization of UAH 150 million in cash in June 2026. Through accounts of shell companies, the money was allegedly introduced into legal circulation to post bail for one of the participants of the criminal organization in the "Midas" case.
NABU does not officially name the individuals in its report, but among the 12 suspects it lists the chairman of the board and the head of the supervisory board of Sense Bank. In court proceedings, the chairman of the board who was notified of suspicion is Oleksiy Stupak.
On September 2, the High Anti-Corruption Court set bail for him at UAH 15 million. SAPO had requested detention with an alternative of UAH 150 million bail.
The court also imposed a number of obligations on the suspect, including restricting his ability to leave Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast without permission, requiring him to surrender passports for foreign travel, and to wear an electronic bracelet.
A separate complaint against Stupak arose from the banking regulator. On September 1, the National Bank declared him unqualified in terms of professional suitability and demanded the state as the owner of Sense Bank to replace the chairman of the board.
The NBU opened administrative proceedings against Stupak as early as early May. The regulator cited, in particular, identified violations in the bank's operations before nationalization, non-transparent management practices, and improper performance of managerial duties, which, in the NBU's assessment, created elevated regulatory and reputational risks.
After the publication of NABU materials, Stupak was suspended from managing the bank. Since early September, his deputy Olena Zubchenko has been acting as chairman of the board of Sense Bank.
During the TSC meeting, Adzhuner also mentioned rumors of possible political support for Stupak's candidacy from high-ranking officials of the Presidential Office at the time. At the same time, he several times stressed that he has no evidence of such connections and speaks only about unconfirmed information, so these statements cannot be presented as established facts.
Stupak has the status of a suspect. His guilt in criminal offenses has not been established by a court.
Based on materials: TSC of the Verkhovna Rada session, NABU, HACC
