The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine remanded Ukrainian businessman Maksym Mykytas in custody on 21 August 2026 with bail set at 30 million hryvnias.
The court ruling stems from the ongoing investigation into the Forest Gump case, a major corruption inquiry involving an alleged criminal organisation. Anti-corruption authorities state that the group operated under the leadership of a current and a former Ukrainian lawmaker, with the active participation of high-ranking officials from the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office had initially asked the court to take Mykytas into custody with a significantly higher bail requirement of 200 million hryvnias. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office operates as an independent prosecutorial body handling high-level corruption cases across Ukraine.
Following the court's decision, Mykytas said his defense team intends to file an appeal against the ruling because he does not have the financial resources required to post the 30 million hryvnia bail. Speaking in court during the 21 August hearing, the former lawmaker stated that the criminal case against him is political manipulation. Prosecutors said they were unable to answer immediately whether they would submit an appeal regarding the reduced bail amount.
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, located in Kyiv, was established as a specialized judicial body to adjudicate top-tier financial crimes and official misconduct. Under Ukrainian criminal procedure, pretrial detention with a bail option is standard practice for serious economic offenses. Mykytas previously served as a member of the Verkhovna Rada, the unicameral national parliament of Ukraine, and served as president of Ukrbud, a major state-owned building corporation involved in large-scale residential and infrastructure projects.
Hostile takeovers and money laundering claims
During a court session on 20 August 2026, prosecutor Vitaliy Rybalkin outlined the structure and operations of the group that prosecutors allege functions as a criminal organisation. He said that in the autumn of 2025, members of the enterprise carried out a hostile takeover of two commercial entities holding combined assets valued at 248 million hryvnias.
In Ukraine, corporate raiding typically involves illegal asset seizures executed through fraudulent registry entries or forced corporate transfers. Rybalkin explained that the primary motivation behind taking over one of the targeted companies was to obtain control over valuable real estate located in central Kyiv worth more than 500 million hryvnias.
The prosecution further alleged that specific participants in the scheme conspired with officials and representatives of a Ukrainian state bank during June 2026 to launder criminal proceeds. Rybalkin said the group funneled 150 million hryvnias in cash through a series of bank accounts registered to shell companies to integrate the funds into legal circulation.
According to prosecutors, the laundered cash was subsequently used to post bail for a member of a different criminal group implicated in a separate probe known as the Midas case. While anti-corruption agencies have not officially released the name of the individual who received the bail payment, recorded conversations obtained by investigators contain the name Herman, and the 150 million hryvnia payment matches the exact bail figure assigned to former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
Dismissal and investigation at the presidential office
The Forest Gump investigation has reached senior executive levels within the Ukrainian administration. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an official decree on 19 August 2026 removing Iryna Mudra from her role as deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the central advisory body supporting the head of state.
Mudra's name was formally included in case materials relating to the Forest Gump inquiry, and law enforcement officers served her with an official notice of suspicion on the evening of 19 August. Under Ukrainian law, a notice of suspicion marks the formal legal stage at which an individual is designated an official suspect in an active criminal investigation. Following the receipt of the document, Mudra stated that she was fully prepared to answer all questions from investigators.
Legal proceedings regarding preventive measures and bail arrangements for other key figures in the Forest Gump investigation are expected to continue in Kyiv. Appellate courts will review any formal filings submitted by defense lawyers or prosecutors once the deadline for appeals opens.
