Mudra and Mykytas, who are implicated in ’Forrest Gump’ case, discussed destruction of evidence and measures to conceal their activities ahead of NABU searches
The former deputy head of the Presidential Office, Iryna Mudra, who is implicated in the ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Themis’ cases, complains in a conversation with former MP Maksym Mykytas that she is unable to find out the details of the investigation against her and is keen to ‘wipe’ her phone before searches by the NABU.
This was reported by a prosecutor from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) during the court hearing on the imposition of a preventive measure against Mudra, according to Censor.NET.
The prosecution’s position on the pre-trial measure
At the previous hearing, the prosecutor requested that Mudra be remanded in custody, with the possibility of bail set at 150 million hryvnias. On this occasion, he explained that such a measure was necessary due to a number of risks — in particular, the risk that the suspect might destroy documents or go into hiding.
In one of the conversations with another person involved in the case, Mykytas, the discussion centred on Mudra’s possible links with officials from the State Border Service.
Security measures
The SAPO prosecutor set out in detail the measures taken to conceal their activities which, according to the investigation, were employed by Mudra and Mykytas: the systematic deletion of information from their own mobile phones, the destruction of documents relating to the criminal case, the use of overseas phone numbers, and communication via the secure messaging app Threema.
The prosecution read out transcripts in which Mykytas advised Mudra to dispose of compromising material in the event of a possible search and to reinstall a secure messaging app. The defendants also discussed how to check for any covert investigative activities by the NABU at their addresses, and there was talk of plans to purchase a new mobile phone.
The prosecutor quoted a message from Mudra to Mykytas, in which she complained about the unpredictability of the anti-corruption authorities’ work compared with other law enforcement agencies and expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding when the case files would be made public.
"Tear it up, tear it up. What if they come to search the place – God forbid? Hide it somewhere. Tear it up and throw it out of the window. And you need to delete Threema and reinstall it", — the prosecutor quotes Mykytas as saying.
Another dialogue:
"Mudra: How else can we check the NSRD? Vitya’s going to look it up by address now.
Mykytas: Well, I’ve torn up what you told me to tear up. God helps those who help themselves.
Mudra: "Aren’t we going to buy a new phone? Shall we wait for the release of the 18th (iPhone?)", according to the wiretap transcripts.
"Do you see what these two bodies (NABU and SAP — ed.) have turned into? It’s absolutely mad; we’re absolutely terrified. It was impossible to find out. With the State Bureau of Investigation or the National Police, you can find out what’s going on in a flash, but not here. […] And you don’t know when they’ll release this [to the public]," — the prosecutor quoted Mudra’s message to Mykytas.
Discussion of the impact on the court
The prosecutor paid particular attention to the issue of the suspects’ possible influence on the judicial system — specifically, their potential collusion with a Supreme Court judge to have the High Anti-Corruption Court’s rulings concerning Mykytas reviewed, as it is this court that hears appeals against the Anti-Corruption Court’s verdicts.
According to the prosecution, Mudra described her preparatory work with the judge and expressed confidence that, even in the event of a guilty verdict by the High Anti-Corruption Court, the situation could be rectified through the Supreme Court.
The prosecutor also made public a conversation between Mykytas and the businessman Vasyl Astion regarding contacts with judges and the possibility of transferring the case to Dnipro on grounds of jurisdiction.
Furthermore, in other excerpts from the conversations, the individuals involved, according to the prosecutor, discussed influencing judicial practice and presumably mentioned the head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Oleksandr Klymenko — in particular, the need to establish a ‘talent pool’ and their dissatisfaction with the authorities’ lack of cooperation with anti-corruption bodies.
Operation "Forrest Gump"
- It was previously reported that NABU and SAPO were conducting a special operation aimed at exposing a criminal group involving MPs and senior Presidential Office officials.
- According to media reports, NABU and SAPO were conducting searches involving Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra as part of the announced operation.
- NABU detectives also conducted searches involving Hladyshchenko, chair of the Sense Bank supervisory board.
- Vadym Stolar, an MP from the court-banned Opposition Platform – For Life party, confirmed that NABU and SAPO were searching his property as part of Operation "Forrest Gump."
- NABU later said the case involved UAH 150 million in cash, which, according to the investigation, was channelled through a series of shell-company accounts and brought into legal circulation to post bail for one of the defendants in the Midas case.
- Former deputy head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra later confirmed that searches had been conducted at her home on August 19, that she had been served with a notice of suspicion and a motion seeking a preventive measure, but that she had not been detained. She is preparing for a court hearing.
- On 20 August, NABU released new recordings of conversations involving figures in the Forest Gump case—the second part of the investigation, titled Themis. The case concerns a scheme to seize real estate and other assets through unauthorised interference with the Ministry of Justice’s information (automated) networks.
- On 20 August, a prosecutor from the SAPO named all the individuals mentioned in connection with NABU’s Forest Gump and Themis operations.
