Sense Bank at the Center of a 150 Million Hryvnia Scandal — Cabinet of Ministers Suspends Chairman of the Supervisory Board
19 August 22:50
The government suspended Mykola Hladyshenko and initiated a similar decision regarding the chairman of the board, Oleksiy Stupak. The personnel changes were a response to findings from an anti-corruption investigation involving a state-owned bank. This was announced by Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, according to
The decision regarding Mykola Hladyshenko has already been made. Meanwhile, regarding Oleksiy Stupak, the Cabinet of Ministers has only initiated the removal procedure. This means that the final personnel decision must go through the stages prescribed by law and corporate governance rules.
According to the prime minister, a similar response should be taken regarding other bank officials if their involvement is confirmed by the findings of the pre-trial investigation.
“The facts disclosed by anti-corruption agencies require proper assessment and cannot go unaddressed,” the head of government emphasized.
How Sense Bank Became Involved in the 150 Million Hryvnia Case
According to investigators, the group exposed during Operation “Forest Gump” may have laundered approximately 150 million hryvnias in cash. The money was allegedly introduced into official circulation to be used as bail for one of the participants in another anti-corruption proceeding—the “Midas” case.
The NABU claims that the following could have been used to carry out the transactions:
- accounts of controlled companies;
- the infrastructure of a state-owned bank;
- the official authority of certain officials;
- prearranged financial transactions.
According to NABU detective Mykhailo Romaniuk, the organizers of the scheme allegedly gained effective control over Sense Bank, which allowed them to use the financial institution for their own interests.
This is the version presented in the pretrial investigation. Only a court can provide a final legal assessment of the actions of each of the individuals involved.
Why This Is a New Round of the Scandal
The Cabinet of Ministers’ latest decision is a continuation of a story that began back in the spring of 2026 following the release of the so-called “Mindich tapes.”
According to journalists, the recordings revealed discussions about the future composition of Sense Bank’s supervisory board even before the Cabinet’s official decision. Following the scandal, Mykola Hladyshenko recused himself from his duties for the duration of the investigation.
At the same time, the National Bank initiated administrative proceedings to determine whether Oleksiy Stupak met the qualification requirements. The regulator also investigated the independence of the supervisory board chair.
READ ALSO: The government wants to sell “Sense Bank” as soon as possible
As reported by
Sense Bank in the “Mindich tapes”
The composition of the supervisory board of the state-owned Sense Bank, appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers on June 18, 2025, had been discussed more than a month earlier by those implicated in the “Midas” case, according to “Ukrainska Pravda.”
According to the publication, the new “Mindich tapes” capture a conversation between Oleksandr Zuckerman (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, sholova, and owner of “Kyivpidzemshlyakhbud” LLC—ed.), who became an advisor to the bank’s management following the nationalization of Sense Bank.
In a conversation on May 9, 2025, Vesely, as reported by UP, allegedly presented a 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.
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In a published excerpt from the transcript of the so-called “Mindich tapes,” Veselyi also discusses with Zuckerman 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, according to UP.
Law enforcement agencies and the court are to provide a legal assessment of these conversations.
In June, the bank announced the completion of an internal audit conducted following earlier publications about the “Mindich tapes.”
As Sense Bank noted in its audit findings, the audit did not find any evidence of preferential treatment, the application of non-standard service terms, or violations of internal procedures regarding the individuals and companies mentioned in the earlier reports.
At the time this article was prepared, Sense Bank had not issued a separate public statement regarding the “Forest Gump” transaction or the Cabinet of Ministers’ latest decision.
About the Bank
Sense Bank (JSC “Sense Bank”)—formerly Alfa-Bank Ukraine — one of Ukraine’s largest banks, founded in the 1990s and formerly 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 the risks to financial stability and the previous owners’ ties to Russian businesses.
