Prosecution seeks $3.4 million bail for Sense Bank head

Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is asking a court to detain Oleksii Stupak, suspended CEO of state-owned Sense Bank, on bail of 150 million hryvnia, about $3.4 million. The hearing was postponed to Sept. 2 after Stupak requested a recess citing deteriorating health.

Stupak's defense argued the bank's automated monitoring system makes it technically impossible for suspicious transactions to slip through unlogged. Prosecutors countered that detention is warranted because Stupak is a flight risk, and set the bail figure by pointing to his own assets, said to exceed the bail amount itself.

The case connects to NABU's Aug. 19 'Forrest Gump' operation, which alleges a group laundered the same sum, 150 million hryvnia in cash, to post bail for a suspect in the separate 'Midas' case, widely believed to be former energy minister Herman Halushchenko. Investigators say the scheme involved a Presidential Office deputy head, a former lawmaker, and state bank leadership, with searches conducted at Sense Bank's head office.

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