Former President's Office deputy chief, ex-lawmaker face bail hearings in corporate raiding case
On Aug. 19, the NABU said that it was "conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization led by a current and a former Ukrainian lawmaker and involving senior officials from the President's Office."
Iryna Mudra, the former deputy head of the President’s Office, and Maksym Mykytas, an ex-lawmaker, faced bail hearings before the High Anti-Corruption Court on August 21 as authorities probe a corporate raiding scheme. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) requested the court to keep Mudra in custody, with bail set at Hr 150 million ($3.3 million).
The court also ordered Mykytas to be held in custody with bail amounting to Hr 200 million ($4.47 million). Both suspects are part of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) investigation, code-named Forest Gump.
The NABU disclosed on August 19 that they were executing a special operation to unveil a criminal organization led by a current and former Ukrainian lawmaker, involving senior officials from the President's Office. Investigators allege that the suspects laundered Hr 150 million ($3.4 million) and transferred the funds through the state-owned Sense Bank to bail a suspect from a prior corruption case, believed to be former Justice and Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
Halushchenko has been charged with money laundering and involvement in organized crime in a broad probe focusing on the state nuclear power monopoly, Energoatom.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) stated on August 21 that they are investigating how suspects evaded financial monitoring. According to NABU, the suspects allegedly took control of a business worth over Hr 248 million hryvnias ($5.56 million) in late 2025. In May 2026, they attempted to seize properties totaling Hr 207 million ($4.64 million), and sought control over a central Kyiv property worth over 500 million hryvnias (approximately $11.2 million).
Mudra, who oversaw the judiciary at the President's Office, is the highest-ranking suspect in the investigation. She was charged with money laundering on August 19 and dismissed by a presidential decree shortly after.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
