"Sense Bank" paid 186,000 UAH a month to "overseer" from Presidential Office, Veselyi, – Zhelezniak. VIDEO
Businessman Vasyl Veselyi received 186,000 UAH per month from "Sense Bank" for services which were described in the work completion reports as liaising with state bodies and advising the Supervisory Board.
This was revealed by MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, as reported by Censor.NET.
Details
There have been many ‘overseers’ in this country. There were even some who were still paid a salary by the state. But for an ‘overseer’ to receive a salary and explicitly state in the work completion report… the work of an ‘overseer’ – that only happens under this government.
"We received the certificates of completion for SensBank from Vasyl Veselyi. Just so you understand, he was consistently paid 186,000 per month and earned 2.8 million hryvnias from this over 15 months," the MP noted.
According to Zhelezniak, three lines are repeated word for word in each of the 15 documents:
- "ensuring and carrying out the provision of information to key state stakeholders regarding the progress of the Bank’s transformation into a state-owned bank";
- "advising members of the Supervisory Board on matters of communication and public relations, and relations with state bodies";
- "organising meetings… on the strategy and tactics of the Supervisory Board’s work with government bodies".
"There were only four events dated over the 15-month period (23 April 2024: committee meeting; 29–31 May 2024: Lviv; 19 July 2024: National Council; 26 November 2024: meeting with the Chair of the National Council). The rest consists of ‘consultations with members of the National Council’ regarding documents which the bank had already received: letters from the Ministry of Finance, orders from the National Bank of Ukraine, resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers, and a letter from the National Securities and Stock Market Commission in response to a letter from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
It is telling that January–May 2025 consisted almost exclusively of an unscheduled inspection by the NBU. The contract was terminated on 25 June 2025 – a week after the CMU’s order appointing a new Supervisory Board," the MP concluded.
Sense Bank in the ‘Forrest Gump’ case
- As previously reported, on 20 August, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi stated that the government had instructed the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to accelerate the sale of the state-owned "Sense Bank" against the backdrop of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU)’s "Forrest Gump" operation.
- According to Koretskyi, the proceeds from the sale will be channelled towards the needs of the Ukrainian Defence Forces.
- Prior to this, the Ukrainian government had suspended the chair of the supervisory board of the state-owned "Sense Bank"and initiated the suspension of the chair of the management board following the investigation by NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
- On 21 August, the National Bank launched unscheduled inspections of "Sense Bank" regarding possible interference with the automated system whilst posting bail and compliance with financial monitoring rules.
- Furthermore, on 25 August, "Sense Bank" temporarily suspended the director of the Financial Monitoring Department from his duties.
- The Cabinet of Ministers terminated the powers of Mykola Hladyshenko, chairman of the supervisory board of "Sense Bank", against the backdrop of NABU’s special operations "Forrest Gump" and "Themis".
Operation ‘Forrest Gump’
- It was previously reported that NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are conducting a special operation to expose a criminal group involving members of parliament 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 have 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 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.
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On 1 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court’s Appeals Chamber left the preventive measure imposed on Mykytas unchanged.
The preventive measure imposed on Viktor Dubovyk was also left unchanged.
