State-owned Sense Bank confirmed on August 19 that anti-corruption authorities conducted investigative searches at its main office in connection with specific individuals.
The financial institution declined to comment further on details of the case, stating on its website that legal restrictions prohibit disclosing pre-trial investigation information.
In a statement published online, the lender said it is interested in establishing all circumstances of the situation fully and objectively. The bank added that it is cooperating with authorized law enforcement agencies and providing all necessary information in line with statutory requirements.
Investigation into Operation Forest Gump
The searches follow an announcement on Wednesday morning by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine regarding a new probe into senior officials code-named Forest Gump.
According to preliminary data, Sense Bank may have been used to launder a 150 million UAH bail for a key suspect in an earlier high-profile anti-corruption case known as Operation Midas. Investigators believe that suspect to be former Minister of Energy and Justice Herman Halushchenko.
From the statement released by anti-corruption officers, members of an organized group arranged the bail payment using funds obtained through criminal activities. Investigators allege that suspects established control over Sense Bank and used the financial institution to serve their private interests.
Regulatory oversight and bank management
The alleged money laundering occurred after the National Bank of Ukraine, the country's central bank, launched an inspection in spring 2026 into top management at Sense Bank PJSC. That regulatory review targeted the head of the supervisory board, Mykola Hladyshenko, and the chairman of the board, Oleksiy Stupak.
National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshnyy previously stated in an interview with LIGA.Business that the earlier case was intended to demonstrate whether the corporate governance system inside Sense Bank functions properly.
History of Sense Bank nationalization
Sense Bank was originally founded in 1992 and operated under the corporate name PJSC Alfa-Bank from 2001. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the lender abandoned its Russian branding and changed its name to Sense Bank.
The Ukrainian government fully nationalized Sense Bank in July 2023. The financial institution maintains official designation as a systemically important bank within Ukraine's financial sector.
