SAPO prosecutor asks to place Sense Bank board chairman Stupak in custody with alternative bail of UAH 150 mln

A Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) prosecutor is requesting that Oleksiy Stupak, chairman of the board at state-owned Sense Bank, be placed in detention custody. An alternative to this measure, a UAH 150 million bail, is also being proposed. The prosecutor believes that the risks involved are too high for less severe preventive measures to be effective.

Stupak's assets, as stated in the prosecution's materials, exceed UAH 150 million, making a smaller bail amount insufficient to deter him. This request comes as part of an ongoing NABU and SAPO operation, Forrest Gump, investigating financial irregularities. The investigation has resulted in a UAH 150 million bail for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, with Sense Bank mentioned in the investigation materials due to several transactions being conducted through its accounts.

On August 19, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, head of the Verkhovna Rada’s temporary investigative commission, revealed details of the fund transfers used for the bail. It was reported that UAH 50 million was transferred directly from Sense Bank accounts to a HACC account, with UAH 46 million originating from Hiran Construct LLC and UAH 4 million from Pellet Service LLC.

Following these transfers, the National Bank initiated unscheduled inspections of Sense Bank, focusing on potential interference in its automated system during these transactions. The regulator is to investigate the circumstances of this interference, the instructions given by the bank's management to its employees, and compliance with financial monitoring legislation.

Additionally, Sense Bank's chairman, Oleksiy Stupak, was summoned to a qualification commission meeting on August 26 to discuss his professional fitness and the government's decision to suspend him from his position while the internal investigation is ongoing.