Amid the “Mindich tapes” scandal, Sense Bank commissions a study of its own reputation for over 1.3 million hryvnias
4 May 16:09
State-owned Sense Bank ( JSC “Sense Bank”) has announced a tender for a comprehensive study of its reputation. The contract value is 1.3 million hryvnia, according to data from the “Prozorro” platform, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian"
According to the tender documentation, the study is to cover the bank’s key audiences—customers, businesses, experts, the media, and employees—and assess the level of trust, loyalty, brand recognition, and its market position.
The bank’s request for the study includes:
- 25 in-depth interviews with experts, media representatives, and partners;
- a survey of 1,000 individuals and 400 business clients;
- a separate survey of 1,000 bank employees;
- calculation of a reputation index and analysis of the brand’s strengths and weaknesses.
The study is expected to last up to 90 business days and conclude with the preparation of an analytical report containing recommendations for the bank.
The deadline for submitting tender proposals is set for today, May 4, 2026.
Currently, there is only one company participating in the procurement—Consumer Business Research LLC—which submitted its proposal at midnight on May 3.
Potential researchers
According to OpenDatabot, Consumer Business Research LLC earned over 7.3 million UAH from government procurement last year by selling various research services and the right to use the “YUMIANALY TICS Desktop” software (MMW 5) to government agencies.
The state-owned “PrivatBank” purchased the most services from this company ( for nearly 22.5 million UAH). Another state-owned bank, “Ukrgasbank,” purchased market research from “Consumer Business Research” LLC for over half a million hryvnias.
Sense Bank on “Mindich’s” tapes
The composition of the supervisory board of the state-owned Sense Bank, appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers on June 18, 2025, was discussed more than a month earlier by figures involved in the “Midas” case, according to “Ukrainska Pravda.”
According to the publication, the new “Mindich tapes” capture a conversation between Oleksandr Tsukerman (whom the NABU investigation identifies as a co-organizer of corruption schemes in the energy sector led by Timur Mindich and an employee of the “back office” for money laundering—ed.) and Vasyl Veselyi (a businessman, sholov, and owner of Kyivpidzemshlyakhbud Concern LLC—ed.), who became an advisor to the bank’s management after the nationalization of Sense Bank.
In a conversation on May 9, 2025, Vesely, as reported by UP, allegedly announced his preferred list of members for the bank’s supervisory board: Petr Novak, Jerzy Shugaev, Eva de Falk, Oleksandr Shchur, Mykola Hladyshenko, and Oleg Mistyuk. Forty days later, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed precisely these individuals to the supervisory board of Sense Bank.
In the published excerpt from the transcript of the so-called “Mindich tapes,” Veselyi also discusses with Tsukerman the distribution of influence on the financial institution’s supervisory board, noting that “there should be 5 or 6 of our members” out of nine, reports UP.
Law enforcement agencies and the court are to provide a legal assessment of these conversations.
About the bank
Sense Bank (JSC “Sense Bank”)—formerly Alfa-Bank Ukraine—is one of Ukraine’s largest banks, founded in the 1990s and previously known as Alfa-Bank Ukraine, which, prior to the full-scale war, was part of an international group of Russian origin.
In 2022, the financial institution underwent a rebranding, changing its name to “Sense Bank,” and in July 2023, it was nationalized: the state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, acquired 100% of the bank’s shares. This decision was made in light of risks to financial stability and the previous owners’ ties to Russian business.
Sense Bank has not yet commented on the references to the bank in the so-called “Mindy tapes.”
