Millions in Bags, Front Companies, and Bankers: NABU Reveals Details of Bail for Halushchenko

Millions in Bags, Front Companies, and Bankers: NABU Reveals Details of Bail for Halushchenko

Former MP and president of the bankrupt Ukrbud, Maksym Mykytas, who himself had many problems with NABU, raised 150 million UAH for bail for former Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko. Mykytas tried with all his might: he involved his junior partners, controlled companies, and even officials of the state-owned Sens Bank.

This is reported by OBOZ.UA.

NABU established that Mykytas organized the "raising" of the bail together with the deputy head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, who was later dismissed following the scandal. Mudra likely had influence over certain officials of the state bank.

At the same time, Sens Bank’s official statement says that the investigative actions carried out at the bank are related to specific individuals. This situation will not affect the bank’s operations. "We are interested in all circumstances of this situation being fully and objectively clarified. Therefore, the bank cooperates with the authorized bodies and provides all necessary information in the manner prescribed by law," the statement says.

Another loud corruption scandal

The country had not yet recovered from the corruption scandal around entrepreneur Tymur Mindich and allegations of money laundering involving former head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, when NABU again conducted searches of top officials. This time law enforcement targeted Iryna Mudra.

The deputy head of the Office of the President had significant influence over the banking sector and retained it under the new head of the Office. According to the investigation, "unknown persons" tasked Mudra with mobilizing reserves to post bail for Halushchenko. The amount was 150 million UAH.

Mudra was helped by former MP and former president of the bankrupt Ukrbud Maksym Mykytas, as well as certain employees of Sens Bank, notably former chair of the supervisory board Mykola Hladishchenko and head of the financial and currency monitoring department Liudmyla Snihur.

Sens Bank officials were to help bypass financial monitoring. Without that, it would have been impossible to post the bail using cash. Tens of millions of hryvnias were transferred to a company linked to Mykytas and also to Valentyn Yelizarov and Mykhailo Tarkovskyi (who appear together in materials regarding possible abuses, including related to PrJSC Metrobud).

This concerns LLC Hiran Konstract, which was registered to Tarkovskyi’s mother-in-law, Olena Sidun. The woman is also the nominal director. The company opened an account at Sens Bank from which the bail was posted, and the account was closed on 20 June.

Judging by the materials NABU provided to the investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court, Hladishchenko not only allowed the circumvention of the bank’s financial monitoring, he also proposed involving another enterprise – Tetras Optima, whose accounts were used to post the bail.

Tetras Optima is registered to Tetyana Linnikova from Kharkiv region. Neither Linnikova nor her LLC had appeared anywhere before. The banker did not provide his own money. Mykytas transferred first 16,23 million and then 37,86 million UAH to this company’s accounts.

"And on the same day, immediately upon receipt of the specified funds, LLC Tetras Optima transferred the indicated 54 million UAH to the specialized account of the High Anti-Corruption Court with the payment purpose 'Bail for suspect Halushchenko Herman Valeriyovych, born 01.05.1973, according to the ruling of the High Anti-Corruption Court in the criminal proceedings (case No.991/7262/26, proceeding No.1-ks/991/7274/26) dated 12 June 2026. Without VAT.'" – the ruling’s materials state.

Mykytas also involved his partner Vasyl Astion. The money was delivered in cash. Thus, from 22 to 24 June 2026 NABU recorded daily deliveries of cash in bags and boxes to an office premises located at: Kyiv, Vaclav Havel Boulevard, building 4, second floor, which is effectively the premises of PrJSC Metrobud controlled by Mykytas.

According to the investigation, Astion helped find a conversion center for the cash. Thus, through 68 LLCs and individual entrepreneurs, tens of millions of hryvnias were routed to Hiran Kontract’s accounts. And certain Sens Bank officials helped "not notice" such operations.

The main question: where did the money come from

The investigation believes that a number of controlled companies were used to legalize criminal proceeds (LLC Hiran Konstract, LLC Vostoktranslogistika, LLC Company Komandor, LLC Pelet Service, LLC Skyt Retail, LLC Tetras Optima), between which fictitious contracts for the supply of goods or provision of financial assistance were concluded.

LLC Vostoktranslogistika, through which funds were also transferred, is officially owned by Dmytro Perederi from Dnipro. Previously the owner was Pavlo Zhytskyi. In 2016 Pavlo Zhytskyi was convicted as a participant in the so-called "gas case" of former MP Oleksandr Onyshchenko. Under a plea agreement with the prosecutor, Zhytskyi admitted that he headed a company used during the sale of state gas through fictitious auctions at undervalued prices. That company also posted bail for Tyshchenko.

LLC Company Komandor’s official owner is Andriy Blyndar. From the communal enterprise for repair and maintenance of bridges and roads of Kyiv, Kyivavtoshliakhmist, the company received tenders worth 544 million UAH.

NABU is confident that participants in the scheme could have obtained tens of millions of hryvnias illegally. The question of where the participants obtained 150 million UAH (in cash) may be the most important.

Halushchenko may have been involved in "barrier" schemes at Energoatom. However, similar schemes could have operated at other large state enterprises and in the financial sector as well.

In addition, the true source of these funds could be other large-scale shadow schemes, which will soon become known.