Presidential Office official appears in Mudra case over Halushchenko’s bail: He is called "Kyrylo Oleksiiovych" – media
The materials of a motion seeking a preventive measure against former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra in the Forrest Gump case mention another Presidential Office official in addition to her. Investigators assign this official the role of organiser, and in recorded conversations he is most often called "Kyrylo" and "Kyrylo Oleksiiovych."
Censor.NET reports this with reference to hromadske.
The publication obtained materials from a motion seeking a preventive measure against one of the individuals involved in the case concerning the laundering of funds intended for Herman Halushchenko’s bail.
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Role of unnamed official
According to the materials, this person was to take control of cash from Timur Mindich and members of his group, arrange its storage and transfer mechanism, and ensure that those involved received financial remuneration. According to hromadske, the official is likely Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov. The journalists said his surname also appears directly in the motion materials.
Context of case
Businessman Timur Mindich, who is suspected of creating a criminal organisation and involvement in large-scale corruption in the energy sector, left Ukraine in November 2025 shortly before searches in the Midas case. In February 2026, NABU detained former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko in the same case as he attempted to cross the border. He was notified of suspicion on 16 February and subsequently held in pre-trial detention with the option of posting UAH 200 million in bail.
How control over Sense Bank was discussed
According to the publication, on 9 June 2026, Mudra and Mykytas discussed Mindich’s request to the aforementioned Presidential Office official, "Kyrylo," to take control of Sense Bank and the financial flows associated with the institution so that Halushchenko could once again profit from them after his release.
The following day, 10 June, according to investigators, Mudra and an unnamed Presidential Office official met with Sense Bank Management Board Chair Oleh Stupak and Supervisory Board Chair Mykhailo Hladyshenko.
Investigators claim that following the meeting, the bank’s executives agreed to operate under their informal control. According to NABU, Mindich himself had previously served as the bank’s informal "overseer," but he was already wanted at the time. That same evening, according to investigators, Mudra told Mykytas that she and the official had obtained informal control over the bank. They planned to use its infrastructure to launder cash intended for Halushchenko’s bail.
Excerpts from conversations
Mudra: "And our Israeli refugee calls me. Well, Timur. He calls Kyrylo and says: 'Listen, Kyrylo, please take over Sense Bank' ... Well, those crooks cannot be trusted with a bank, and there are financial flows there. Serious flows, he says... Take the bank under your control, he says... And Timur says: 'Listen, there are flows there, serious money.' 'Take it over somehow,' he says. Well, they communicate with Kyrylo. And those hangers-on already wanted, you know, to latch on... You see how quickly Mindich reoriented himself. He controlled all the flows."
"They are ready for anything. In other words, they will carry it wherever Kyrylo tells them... They will do everything."
Mudra: "Mindich approached Kyrylo. To take control... wait, there are substantial flows there... There is no one to take them now. Do you understand? And now Hera will be released, and he will get back onto those flows. Therefore, before that happens, we need to bargain for something for ourselves."
How bail money was transferred
According to investigators, during a telephone conversation on 17 June 2026, Mykytas said that Mindich had personally handed the cash intended for bail to an unnamed Presidential Office official whom he called "Kyrylo Oleksiiovych." The official’s personal bodyguard was to escort the money.
"And if we handle everything well now, you have no idea: we will do one rouble’s worth, and he will repay it a millionfold. I mean Kyrylo Oleksiiovych... He is doing Mindich a huge favour right now. And he brought the money, by the way. Mindich brought it to him personally."
On 22 June, Valentyn Yelizarov informed Mykytas about the delivery of UAH 50 million packed in four bags. They agreed to take part of the sum to an address provided by businessman Vasyl Astion, whose company served as the third link in the conversion chain.
According to investigators, the participants in the scheme moved UAH 150 million in cash between 22 and 24 June. More than UAH 131 million of this amount was converted into non-cash funds through the accounts of several companies at different banks: Sense Bank, the First Ukrainian International Bank and Globus Bank. By 29 June 2026, Halushchenko’s bail had been paid in full.
Reimbursement of expenses and expression of gratitude
That same day, 29 June, Mudra called Mykytas and added to the conversation a Presidential Office official whom she called "Kyrylo Oleksiiovych" and who thanked him for the work performed. Mykytas asked to be reimbursed for the cost of organising the scheme. The amount was UAH 7.5 million, which, under the agreement, was to be transferred the following morning.
At the same time, the protocols contained in the motion materials directly state that "K. O. Budanov is participating in the conversation."
According to the motion materials, in one conversation Mudra relayed a statement by her interlocutor from the Presidential Office that "c*rruption must be systematised and controlled" and that the process must be "urgently taken over." In addition, according to investigators, Mudra repeatedly told Mykytas that she regularly received unofficial payments of $20,000–$30,000 from a person named "Kyrylo."
Operation "Forrest Gump"
- It was previously reported that NABU and the SAPO are conducting a special operation to expose a criminal group involving MPs and senior officials from the Office of the President.
- According to media reports, as part of the announced special operation, NABU and the SAPO are carrying out searches at the home of Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the Office of the President.
- In addition, NABU detectives carried out searches at the home of Hladyshenko, the chairman of the supervisory board of ‘Sense Bank’.
- Vadym Stolar, a Member of Parliament from the ‘Opposition Platform – For Life’ party, which has been banned by the court, confirmed that NABU and the SAPO are conducting searches at his premises as part of the ‘Forrest Gump’ special operation.
- NABU later stated that the case involved 150 million hryvnias in cash which, according to the investigation, had been channelled into the legal system via a series of accounts held by front companies to pay bail for one of the defendants in the ‘Midas’ case.
- Subsequently, the former deputy head of the Presidential Office, Iryna Mudra, confirmed that her premises were searched on 19 August; she was informed of the charges against her and served with a request for a preventive measure, but was not detained. She is preparing for the court hearing.
- On 20 August, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) released new recordings of conversations involving those implicated in the ‘Forrest Gump’ case — the second part of the investigation entitled ‘Themis’. This concerns a scheme involving the hostile takeover of property and other assets through unauthorised interference with the Ministry of Justice’s information (automated) networks.
- On 20 August, a prosecutor from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) named all the individuals implicated in NABU’s ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Themis’ operations.
- On 21 August, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on former MP Maksym Mykytas in the form of detention, subject to the payment of a 30 million hryvnia bail.
- On 25 August, Iryna Mudra was remanded in custody with the option of posting UAH 20 million in bail.
