Ukrainian authorities seek to fire, suspend Sense Bank’s leadership amid corruption probe

The Ukrainian authorities have initiated the dismissal of state-owned Sense Bank’s supervisory board head and the suspension of its CEO amid a major corruption probe involving the bank, according to statements issued late on Aug. 19 and early on Aug. 20.

The decisions follow searches conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) at Sense Bank on Aug. 19.

The suspects in the investigation are accused of laundering Hr 150 million ($3.4 million) and transferring the funds through Sense Bank to post bail for former Justice and Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. The most high-ranking suspect is President Volodymyr Zelensky’s ex-Deputy Chief of Staff Iryna Mudra.

Halushchenko has been charged with money laundering and organized crime in a separate case centered around state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom — the largest corruption investigation of Zelensky’s tenure. Sense Bank is also allegedly implicated in the Energoatom corruption case.

The Kyiv Independent has requested comments from Sense Bank and the Cabinet of Ministers and will publish them once they are received.

The National Bank of Ukraine’s banking regulation committee has ruled that Mykola Hladyshchenko, chairman of Sense Bank’s supervisory board, does not meet the statutory independence requirements, Mykola Pyshnyi, head of the National Bank, said on Aug. 20.

“This means that Hladyshchenko cannot remain a member of the supervisory board and that his powers must be terminated,” he said on Facebook. “This is specifically a termination of his powers, rather than a suspension.”

Pyshynyi said that the National Bank had instructed the government to “take immediate steps to terminate Hladyshchenko’s powers.”

Before Pyshnyi's statement, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi and the Finance Ministry said late on Aug. 19 that the Cabinet of Ministers had suspended Hladyshchenko for six months.

“The facts made public by the anti-corruption agencies require proper scrutiny and cannot go unanswered,” Koretskyi said. “Trust is essential to the functioning of a state-owned financial institution.”

Hladyshchenko had already suspended himself in May amid the Energoatom investigation. This procedure is different from the suspension announced by Koretskyi.

“Self-suspension is something Hladyshchenko simply made up for himself: he suspends himself, then comes back whenever he wants, and he makes Sense Bank present it as though it were a formal legal procedure," a government source familiar with the issue told the Kyiv Independent. "There is no legal basis for the kind of procedure Hladyshchenko invented for himself."

The source said that "what the Cabinet did yesterday, by contrast, was a legal procedure carried out in accordance with Ukraine’s Law on Banks and Banking Activity."

Pyshnyi said that Hladyshchenko’s self-suspension in May “was merely a formality and, in practice, he continued to influence the bank’s operations.”

He also said that the National Bank had opened a probe “to assess the collective suitability of the bank’s supervisory board.”

“The supervisory board’s failure to respond appropriately to the situation calls into question its members’ ability to exercise proper oversight of the bank’s activities and effectively perform the functions entrusted to them,” Pyshnyi added. “The outcome of the administrative proceedings will determine what consequences will apply to the supervisory board as a whole.”

Koretskyi also said that the Cabinet had “initiated” the suspension of Sense Bank CEO Oleksiy Stupak.

Investigators have linked several former and current Sense Bank officials to the possible circumvention of financial monitoring requirements to post bail for ex-Justice and Energy Minister Halushchenko, according to the NABU.

Unidentified individuals from the President's Office also tasked Zelensky’s ex-Deputy Chief of Staff Mudra with bringing Sense Bank under the control of the President's Office, the bureau said.

Mudra also said that Timur, “an Israeli refugee” — an apparent reference to Timur Mindich, a suspect in the Energoatom case and a close Zelensky associate — called her and asked her to take over Sense Bank, according to tapes published by the NABU.

Mindich had fled to Israel before being charged.

Timur allegedly said that Sense Bank officials were ready to bring cash wherever an unnamed top official of the President’s Office says, according to Mudra's alleged statement in the tapes.

In the tapes, Mudra, ex-lawmaker Maksym Mykytas and one of his associates also allegedly discussed circumventing a regulatory block on a payment through Sense Bank intended for Halushchenko’s bail. He also mentioned using forged documents and an alleged money laundering office.

Alleged transcripts of audio tapes published in April and May appear to confirm previous Ukrainska Pravda reports that Vasyl Vesely, an aide to Sense Bank's supervisory board, was a protégé of Zelensky's former Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and had a lot of influence over the bank. According to Ukrainska Pravda, Mindich also allegedly influenced Sense Bank.

Vesely previously denied the allegations.

Vesely and Oleksandr Tsukerman, a suspect in the case, mention talking to "Khirurg" (Surgeon) in the alleged tapes several times while discussing Sense Bank. Vesely also says that Khirurg "needs him."

Oleksandr Abakumov, the detective in charge of the Energoatom case, said in March that Yermak is referred to in the NABU recordings as "Khirurg."

While discussing the appointment of Sense Bank's supervisory board, Tsukerman says that Oleh Mistyuk, who was later appointed as a board member, "works with" Khirurg.

Tsukerman and Vesely appear to have great influence over the board's appointment. The people whom they promoted in the tapes were later appointed to the board.

Hladyshchenko, head of Sense Bank's supervisory board, has admitted being acquainted with Vesely and co-owning a company with him in the past.

"We are interested in ensuring that all the circumstances surrounding this situation are established fully and objectively. The bank is therefore cooperating with the relevant authorities and providing all necessary information in accordance with the procedures established by law,” Sense Bank said on Aug. 19.