Operation "Forest Gump": HACC sets UAH 15 million bail for Sense Bank chairman Stupak but does not remand him in custody

On Wednesday, September 2, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) imposed a preventive measure on Oleksii Stupak, chairman of the Management Board of the state-owned Sense Bank and a figure in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office operation "Forest Gump."

Suspilne reported this from the courtroom, Censor.NET informs.

Court decision

The court set bail at UAH 15 million and imposed several procedural obligations:

not to leave Kyiv or the Kyiv region without permission from NABU detectives;
to limit communication with Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov, financial monitoring staff, NBU officials, the chair and members of the Supervisory Board, members of the Management Board and other executives of Sense Bank, and other suspects in the case;
to report any change of residence;
to surrender his passports for foreign travel and refrain from visiting the bank’s premises.

In addition, the court ordered Stupak to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Arguments of prosecutors and defence

During the hearing, prosecutors noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, under martial law, Oleksii Stupak had travelled abroad at least 30 times, did not have strong social ties in Ukraine (including children) and could abscond from the investigation.

In response, Stupak’s lawyers asserted that all his trips abroad had been exclusively work-related.

The prosecution also stated that Oleksii Stupak had arranged meetings "outside Kyiv," to which the defence responded that he had scheduled them at the hospital where he was receiving treatment.

Attempt to secure personal surety

A serviceman also joined the hearing, saying that he had known Stupak for 15 years and wished to act as his personal guarantor. However, the prosecutor opposed the motion, noting that there was insufficient information about the potential guarantor.

Sense Bank in Forest Gump case

As reported, on August 20, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said that the government had instructed the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to step up the sale of the state-owned Sense Bank amid the National Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (NABU) "Forest Gump" operation.
According to Koretskyi, the proceeds from the sale will be directed to the needs of Ukraine’s Defence Forces.
Before that, the Ukrainian government suspended the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the state-owned Sense Bank and initiated the suspension of the chairman of its Management Board following the case brought by NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
On August 21, the National Bank of Ukraine launched unscheduled inspections of Sense Bank regarding possible interference with the automated system during the posting of bail and compliance with financial monitoring rules.
In addition, on August 25, Sense Bank temporarily suspended the director of the Financial Monitoring Department from performing his official duties.
The Cabinet of Ministers terminated the powers of Sense Bank Supervisory Board chairman Mykola Hladyshenko amid NABU’s "Forest Gump" and "Themis" special operations.

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 shell 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 remanded Dubovyk, an official from the Office of the President, in custody with bail set at 7 million hryvnias.
On 26 August, the full amount of the bail was paid on Dubovyk’s behalf.
On 21 August, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on former MP Maksym Mykytas in the form of detention, with the option of posting bail of 30 million hryvnias.
On 25 August, Iryna Mudra was remanded in custody with the option of posting bail of 20 million hryvnias.
On September 1, the HACC Appeals Chamber upheld the preventive measure imposed on Mykytas. The preventive measure imposed on Viktor Dubovyk was also upheld.