HACC ordered NBU to investigate why banks are refusing to accept bail on Mudra’s behalf. DOCUMENT

An investigating judge at the High Anti-Corruption Court has upheld a complaint lodged by the defence team of Iryna Mudra, the former deputy head of the President’s Office, alleging that banks are refusing to process a bail payment.

According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the law firm ‘Miller’, which is representing Mudra.

The court had previously granted Mudra bail, and, according to her lawyers, there are people willing to pay the sum. However, banks and payment services are refusing to process the payment — solely because the payment reference contains the word ‘bail’ and the recipient is the High Anti-Corruption Court’s account.

The court’s ruling

The court recognised that this violates the human rights of the individual, who is currently in pre-trial detention, and ordered the National Bank of Ukraine to take the following action within 24 hours:

Check whether banks are actually blocking such payments;
If the refusals are unfounded — take steps to ensure the deposit is finally processed;
Submit to the court and the defence all correspondence and recommendations to the banks regarding ‘bail’ payments, as well as any notifications received regarding mass refusals;
Report on the outcome of the investigation. The ruling is final and not subject to appeal.

Lawyer’s comment

Masi Naiem, a partner at the law firm representing Mudra, explained that they had received refusals to process the payment from 15 banks, and as a result, the individual remains in custody.

"We honestly thought this was genuine financial monitoring, the system working as it should. But in fact, they were violating the right to post bail. Where there is a right, there is a way to defend it," wrote Naiem.

According to him, his colleagues lodged a complaint with the investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court, and the court ordered the National Bank of Ukraine to review the banks’ refusals within 24 hours and ensure that bail could be posted.

"I’ve never seen a decision like this before. It’s brilliant!" remarked the lawyer, thanking the defence team.

Operations "Forrest Gump" and "Themis"

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 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 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.