Exclusive: Inside the years-long scheme to turn a nationalized bank into Zelensky allies’ 'piggy bank'
Documents obtained by the Kyiv Independent show that a scheme at the center of Ukraine’s latest corruption scandal was years in the making, built by manipulating a state-owned bank’s oversight board after its nationalization in 2023. On Aug. 19, Ukraine's anti-corruption authorities accused associates of President Volodymyr Zelensky of using Sense Bank, formerly Russian-owned Alfa Bank, to…
Ukrainian officials are investigating a multi-year scheme involving the nationalized bank Sense Bank, formerly Alfa Bank, in connection with President Volodymyr Zelensky's inner circle. Documents show that key figures, including former deputy head of the President's Office Iryna Mudra, pushed to appoint a suspect, Mykola Hladyshchenko, to the bank's supervisory board despite doubts about his qualifications and potential conflicts of interest.
The documents reveal that officials manipulated the bank's oversight to allow for shadowy transactions, making it a convenient target for corruption. The scheme reportedly involved funneling Hryvna 150 million ($3.4 million) to secure bail for Energy and Justice Minister Herman Haluschenko, who was implicated in a $100 million kickback scheme at the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom.
This case is part of a series of corruption scandals linked to Zelensky's administration over the past year.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
