"Midas" worth 18 million: how Fedorov's friend Artem Borodatiuk took control of the advertising budget for the scandalous "Sense Bank"

"Midas" worth 18 million: how Fedorov's friend Artem Borodatiuk took control of the advertising budget for the scandalous "Sense Bank"

The resignation of Mykhailo Fedorov from the post of Minister of Defense provoked considerable outrage in a certain segment of society. Weekly rallies and people holding cardboard signs demanding his return to office eventually resulted in Fedorov himself making puzzling statements about the need to hold elections during wartime and then announcing that he was becoming an adviser to the Italian Minister of Defense.

The cardboard rallies died down, and social media mentioned Mykhailo Fedorov less often. But from the people who supported him on social media and who spread calls in the comments for his return, you can clearly identify friends. Among them is a fairly well-known figure in advertising, DJing, and other "banana-match" circles: Fractal agency owner Artem Borodatiuk. It turned out that Borodatiuk and Fedorov may be not just friends but also accomplices in schemes involving the notorious "Sense Bank."

"Sense Bank" came into the public eye after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office released materials and audio recordings in the case codenamed "Midas." Among other things, the recordings discussed appointing a supervisory board controlled by the state for "Sense Bank," and the so-called overseer was reportedly businessman Vasyl Vesely.

In August 2026 the NABU and SAPO released new recordings related to finding solutions for the figures involved in the "Midas" case. The new series was dubbed "Forrest Gump." The materials revealed that Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra discussed with People's Deputy from the banned party OPZZh Vadym Stolar and former Ukrobud head Maksym Mykytas a scheme for collecting bail for ex-minister Herman Halushchenko, who was involved in the "Midas" case. The money was delivered in cash "by the bag" and processed through the affiliated "Sense Bank."

A nuance — among the documents released by law enforcement is a so-called crisis action plan intended to present the work of the parliamentary temporary investigative commission auditing anti-corruption agencies in a favorable light. The plan envisaged involving political Telegram channels, leading media, experts, and even foreign platforms. Unexpectedly, the "theme list" includes outlets somewhat close to Fedorov — Bihus.info and "Nashi Hroshi". It even mentions "Ukrainska Pravda" and NV, which actively support anti-corruption efforts.

Separately, the "theme list" has a section on using social networks — "messages for international audiences, think tanks, policy brief, dashboards, analytics for international partners." All of these are precisely the kind of services provided by Artem Borodatiuk's agency Fractal, which until August 2025 went by the name Netpeak.

Fractal group, essentially, grew out of an SMM agency that handled advertising, online promotion, and increasing website traffic for companies. Until 2022 the Borodatiuk firms also operated in the Russian Federation market.

Today Fractal has a broad range of businesses, such as website development, an IT hub that rents offices to startups, educational centers for programmers, NGOs, and a recruiting department. The latter was responsible, among other things, for staffing the Ministry of Digital Transformation when it was headed by Fedorov.

While Mykhailo Fedorov worked at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, media repeatedly published materials hinting at his possible influence over legal and illegal businesses through the agency "PlayCity." This was also hinted at by People's Deputy and Tax Committee member Danylo Hetmantsev.

In June 2026 Hetmantsev said from the parliamentary podium: "The black gambling market led by Fedorov and his Borynakovs resists as best it can. And, unfortunately, finds allies among deputies with low social responsibility. Thanks to these political mercenaries, it has not been possible to remove the infamous 'PlayCity' from their domain. The union of 'busifiers,' 'card-players,' and 'fiery oppositionists' worked. Of course, when 20 billion hryvnias of undercollected state revenue are at stake, there is money for lobbying to preserve the existing dirty scheme. So for now, Fedorov with the Borynakovs and 'Sense Bank' can breathe easy.'"

In May 2026 the publication Economic Truth, analyzing the Mindich tapes in the "Midas" case, directly called "Sense Bank" a monopolist in the gambling business. "'Sense Bank' may take an 'unofficial' commission for servicing gambling companies. For example, the official transaction commission rate is 1,7%, but the company pays the bank 2,2%. These 0,5% are allegedly paid as 'kickbacks' to potential beneficiaries of the scheme," the publication wrote.

In June 2026, when the "Midas" case had been circulating for almost a year, Netpik LLC, owned by Artem Borodatiuk, won a state tender for placing advertising materials online for "Sense Bank." The contract amount was 18 million hryvnias. The official contract was signed in August 2026 for a term of one year.

During the same period, after Fedorov's dismissal from the Ministry of Defense it became known that he was summoned to a Verkhovna Rada TSC meeting on the "Midas" case, in which "Sense Bank" is involved. The former minister did not attend the meeting and traveled on an overseas business trip. According to People's Deputy Oleksii Honcharenko, the basis for this was a reservation from the International Charitable Organization 'Eastern Europe' that he received a few days after his dismissal.

Thus, if Fedorov really could have had some influence on "Sense Bank," that would make him a de facto accomplice in the "Midas" case. At the same time, his friend Artem Borodatiuk, a month before Fedorov's dismissal from the Ministry of Defense, received a state contract from the budget to advertise the "toxic" bank in the amount of 18 million hryvnias.

In August 2025 and in June 2026 Netpik LLC won two state tenders to place advertising for Ukrgasbank. The contract amounts were 6,6 million and 3,5 million hryvnias respectively.

Earlier it was reported that Ukrgasbank could also have been involved in the shadow schemes of the gambling business. In March 2023 it was fined 64,6 million hryvnias for violations in the field of financial monitoring. In its press release, Ukrgasbank essentially confirmed that the violations were related to the gambling business.

"As soon as Ukrgasbank learned about the systematic nature of such violations, it immediately blocked the terminals of offending companies from the gambling industry, launched the process of terminating acquiring agreements with affiliated and associated participants, and reviewed and significantly strengthened its internal control system for cashless payment operations," the press release says.

It is also known that from July 2023 to July 2026 Andrii Svystun was a member of the supervisory board of the scandalous "Sense Bank." Prior to that, he was on the supervisory board of the aforementioned Ukrgasbank.

So Borodatiuk's firm won state tenders over the past year for advertising banking structures with a 'questionable trail' and, likely, ties to the gambling business for a total of 28 million hryvnias.

And this despite the fact that, according to official data, Netpik LLC showed a loss of just over 91 million hryvnias for the year 2025. In 2024 the company's net profit was 2,1 million hryvnias.

Interestingly, in the same 2024 year an Audi SQ8 from 2023 was registered to Netpik LLC, and to the company created together with his brother and father — Promotion Development Group LLC — Borodatiuk registered a brand-new LEXUS LM 350H.

Previously Artem Borodatiuk's official registered address was an apartment where his father and brother also lived. According to the registers, in 2024 he changed his registration to an apartment in central Odesa, located 9 minutes on foot from the Odesa Philharmonic.

Borodatiuk's wife works in photography and, most likely, lives in Barcelona. This is evidenced by the corresponding caption on Instagram.

The ex-minister Fedorov is subscribed to both of them on social networks. Along with him are well-known Ukrainian singers, models, influencers, and bloggers, most of whom stood with cardboard signs in support of Fedorov.

The friendly relationship between Artem Borodatiuk and Mykhailo Fedorov is a personal matter. What is of public importance, however, is what the ex-minister actually knew in the "Sense Bank" case — while his friend Borodatiuk was winning a million-hryvnia state tender from the budget to advertise that very bank.