150 Million Bail in the “Midas” Case: New Details on Operation “Forrest Gump”
19 August 13:36
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have uncovered a scheme to launder 150 million hryvnias, which, according to the investigation, were used to post bail for a member of a criminal organization. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" , citing NABU.
Recordings of conversations between the suspects have been released, in which they discuss the transfer of funds through a state-owned bank, their distribution, and ways to circumvent financial monitoring.
According to the investigation, the group included the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, a former member of parliament, the chairman of the board of a state-owned bank, the chairman of its supervisory board, and other individuals. A state-owned bank and accounts of controlled companies were used to carry out the scheme.
In the released materials, the suspects discuss, in particular, gaining control over the bank and enlisting its management to carry out the necessary transactions.
“They’ll handle it, they’ll handle it—no need to keep an eye on anyone there; they’ll take care of everything,” says the former MP.
Separately, the participants in the scheme discussed the possibility of using people under their control within law enforcement agencies. In one of the recordings, they discuss the need to form a “talent pool” and exert influence on government agencies.
“We need to have a personnel reserve; we must. We need to have such people—we don’t have them,” says the deputy head of the Presidential Office in the recording.
Discussions on Posting Bail
A significant portion of the recordings directly concerns the payment of 150 million hryvnias in bail for one of the defendants in the “Midas” case. In their conversations, the scheme’s participants are looking for a way to funnel the funds through companies under their control.
“Do we have 100 million in non-cash funds? In non-cash?” asks a former member of parliament.
In another conversation, they agree to split the amount into several parts.
“Either we do the 150, or we don’t do anything,” says the former MP.
Later, the individuals involved discuss which companies to use to funnel the money and how to arrange for it to be deposited into the bank.
Circumventing Financial Monitoring
Separately, the recordings reveal a scheme for processing payments manually. According to the participants in the conversation, it was necessary to ensure that the payment would not be subject to financial monitoring checks.
“I open a window in manual mode and we release the money,” says the former MP.
The individuals involved also discussed the possibility of creating conditions under which the payment would go through automatically and avoid manual review.
“The payment goes through automatically… it bypasses financial monitoring,” notes a trusted associate of the former NDU official.
At the same time, the conversations explicitly mention the need to transfer funds and use documents for their subsequent remittance.
“We’ll issue fake documents,” says the former MP.
The money was transferred in tranches
According to the investigation, the first tranche, amounting to 50 million hryvnias, was delivered to the office of the former member of parliament. His trusted associate received 15 million hryvnias, while another 35 million were transferred to the so-called “conversion center.”
In their conversations after receiving the money, the individuals involved discuss how to distribute it. On the same day, according to the investigation, another 10 million hryvnias were delivered. The participants in the scheme confirm receipt of the funds and discuss further transactions.
The next tranche amounted to 70 million hryvnias. It was also delivered to the former MP’s office and distributed: 20 million hryvnias went to the trusted associate, and 50 million were transferred to the “laundering operation.” The final tranche, amounting to 20 million hryvnias, was handled according to the same scheme.
Bail for a Defendant in the “Midas” Case
On June 29, 2026, one of the defendants in the “Midas” case was released from custody on bail of 150 million hryvnias. According to the NABU and the SAP, the very origin of these funds became the subject of a new phase of the investigation.
The bail mentioned in the recordings likely pertains to former Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko.
The name “Herman” is mentioned in the recordings, and Halushchenko is a suspect in the “Midas” case. It was for him that 150 million hryvnias in bail was posted in June of this year.
Operation “Forest Gump”
As
According to law enforcement officials, the group was led by a current and a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament. It also included high-ranking officials from the Office of the President.
