Instead of 200 million — 30: The High Anti‑Corruption Court (HACC) remanded Mykytas into custody
Suspect in the "Forrest Gump" case: the court has imposed a preventive measure
High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for the former People’s Deputy and ex-president of the corporation “Ukrbud” Maksym Mykytas, who is involved in the NABU and SAP investigation called “Forest Gump”. The decision was made on 21 August 2026 during the HACC hearing. The court remanded Mykytas in custody, setting an alternative in the form of bail of 30 million hryvnias.
If bail is posted for the ex-MP, procedural obligations will be imposed on him. He must appear at every request of the investigator, prosecutor and court, notify about any change of residence or work, not communicate with specified persons, surrender his foreign passports and wear an electronic bracelet. The decision can be appealed to the Appeals Chamber of the HACC within five days.
The prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office requested that Mykytas be remanded in custody with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 200 million hryvnias. The consideration of the motion began on 20 August, but the judge announced a break, after which the hearing continued the next day. Mykytas‘s lawyer said that the prosecution’s claims about the risk of his client fleeing are contrived and not supported by proper evidence. The defense also called the bail proposed by the prosecution excessive.
Mykytas himself said that he does not plan to challenge the notice of suspicion, but asked the court to impose house arrest or set a moderate bail. He assured that he does not intend to hide and is ready to cooperate with the investigation. After the decision was announced, the ex-MP said he plans to appeal the preventive measure chosen for him.
19 August 2026 NABU and SAP announced the launch of the special operation “Forest Gump”. According to the investigation, the criminal organization was led by current and former MPs, and its activities may have involved officials from the Office of the President, the Ministry of Justice, representatives of a state bank and other persons.
Mykytas is suspected of creating and leading a criminal organization, misappropriating company assets using forged documents, preparing to seize others’ property and laundering proceeds obtained by criminal means. This is the prosecution’s position, which the court still has to assess.
One episode of the investigation concerns the legalization of 150 million hryvnias in cash. According to NABU and SAP, the money was routed through accounts of controlled companies and the state-owned Sense Bank in order to use it to post bail for one of the participants in the “Midas” case.
After the start of the special operation, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Iryna Mudra from the position of Deputy Head of the Office of the President. The decree does not state the reason for that decision. Later, the Cabinet of Ministers suspended the chairman of the supervisory board of Sense Bank, Mykola Hladyshchenko, and initiated a personnel decision regarding the bank’s chairman of the management board. The pretrial investigation continues.
