Key facts
- Sense Bank, formerly Alfa-Bank, was nationalized in July 2023.
- Associates of President Volodymyr Zelensky are accused of using Sense Bank to launder Hr 150 million ($3.4 million).
- The funds were allegedly used to secure bail for Energy and Justice Minister Herman Haluschenko in a $100 million kickback scheme at Energoatom.
- Iryna Mudra, a former deputy head of the President's Office, allegedly pushed for the appointment of suspect Mykola Hladyshchenko to the bank's supervisory board.
- Documents suggest the supervisory board was stacked with loyalists to facilitate alleged illicit transactions.
Documents obtained by The Kyiv Independent indicate a multi-year scheme to manipulate the oversight board of Sense Bank, a nationalized Ukrainian lender, for illicit purposes. The bank, formerly Alfa-Bank and owned by Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, was nationalized in July 2023.
On August 19, Ukraine's anti-corruption authorities accused associates of President Volodymyr Zelensky of using Sense Bank to launder Hr 150 million ($3.4 million). These funds were allegedly used to secure bail for Energy and Justice Minister Herman Haluschenko, a central figure in a $100 million kickback scheme at the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom. This marks the third major corruption case linked to Zelensky's inner circle in the past year, all connected to the same network.
Investigators allege that officials, including Iryna Mudra, a former deputy head of the President's Office, pushed to appoint loyalists to the bank's supervisory board. Meeting minutes show Mudra advocated for the appointment of Mykola Hladyshchenko, another suspect in the Energoatom case, despite concerns about his competence and potential conflicts of interest. Hladyshchenko was eventually appointed to the board, along with other candidates referred to as 'our guys' in secretly recorded conversations.
The nationalization of Sense Bank, occurring under wartime legislation, is described by sources as opaque and less closely watched by international observers than other state-owned banks. This lack of scrutiny allegedly made it a 'convenient target' and a 'piggy bank' for running shady transactions. The bank's intended privatization was prolonged by legal reforms, allowing the alleged scheme to take root.
Supervisory boards are intended to act as safeguards against corruption, but in this case, the board's control was allegedly compromised. The nomination committee, led by Mudra, had the final say on board appointments. Despite objections from the Finance Ministry's representative and the EBRD regarding Hladyshchenko's suitability and conflicts of interest, he was appointed. The bank's CEO, Oleksiy Stupak, is also under investigation.