Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi has ordered the Finance Ministry to speed up the sale of the state-owned Sense Bank, with the proceeds to be directed to the armed forces.
Koretskyi said the ministry and the National Bank of Ukraine have a clear task to resolve accumulated problems at the financial institution and ensure transparent and high-quality corporate governance.
Ukraine nationalised Sense Bank in July 2023, placing it under the management of the Finance Ministry.
Corruption investigation
The push for a sale comes amid a major money-laundering investigation involving the bank's leadership.
On August 19, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine announced it had uncovered a criminal group during an operation code-named Forrest Gump. The bureau said the group organised the legalisation of funds obtained by criminal means.
According to investigators, the group included a deputy head of the President's Office, a former member of parliament, and the chairmen of Sense Bank's board and supervisory board.
The bureau said the group laundered 150 million hryvnias in cash through shell company accounts. The money was introduced into legal circulation to pay bail for a participant in a criminal organisation tied to a separate investigation known as the Midas case.
The suspect's name has not been officially disclosed. However, published audio recordings feature the name Herman, and the sum matches the bail set for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
A detective for the anti-corruption bureau, Mykhailo Romaniuk, said the group used Sense Bank and the accounts of controlled businesses to run the scheme. He said the organisers took effective control of the bank's cash machines in early June, allowing them to use the equipment for their own interests.
Sense Bank confirmed on the evening of August 19 that law enforcement officers had conducted investigative actions at its head office relating to specific individuals.
