EU Pledges Support for Ukraine’s Anti-Graft Efforts Amid New ‘Forrest Gump’ Probe

European Union ambassadors met with the heads of Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies, as scrutiny of state-owned Sense Bank intensified following a new probe dubbed “Forrest Gump,” which involves allegations of money laundering through the bank.The meeting took place at the EU Delegation building in Kyiv on Friday, Aug. 21, bringing together EU member-state ambassadors and National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Director Semen Kryvonos together with the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), Oleksandr Klymenko.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“The EU will continue its strong support for Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts as Ukraine moves forward on its EU path,” the delegation said on X, describing the discussion as “open and constructive.”Meeting follows Sense Bank probeThe meeting came two days after NABU and SAPO announced the “Forrest Gump” probe and conducted investigative actions at Sense Bank’s headquarters.Although little information was released about the new probe, the agencies revealed that the operation targets an alleged “criminal organization” involving a current and a former Ukrainian lawmaker, as well as senior officials from the Presidential Office.NABU and SAPO claimed the operation uncovered a scheme in which participants laundered HR. 150 million ($3.3 million) through the state-owned bank to post bail for a suspect in a previous probe dubbed “Operation Midas,” Ukrainska Pravda reported. Other Topics of Interest Nord Stream Suspect Arrested on Set of Film About the Sabotage Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev was arrested in Pula while reportedly working on “Snake Island,” a film about the Nord Stream sabotage. The bail was reportedly posted for the former energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, at the end of June by four companies; Tetras Optima LLC, Hiran Konstrakt LLC, Skait Riteil LLC, and Pelet Servis LLC.Individuals involved in the scheme were served with notices of suspicion under Article 209.3 of the Criminal Code, including former deputy head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra, former lawmaker Maksym Mykytas, Vadym Stolar – who belonged to the barred, pro-Russian “Opposition – For Life” party, chair of Sense Bank’s management board Oleh Stupak and Mykola Hladyshenko, the chairman of the supervisory board.Investigators said the group gained effective control over Sense Bank’s accounts in early June and drew senior bank management into the scheme.Sense Bank under scrutinyFormerly known as Alfa-Bank Ukraine, Sense Bank is one of the country’s largest systemically important lenders and has operated under state ownership since July 2023, when the government nationalized the bank following sanctions on its former Russian owners Mikhail Fridman, Andrey Kosogov, and Petr Aven.On Wednesday, the government removed Hladyshenko as chairman of Sense Bank’s supervisory board and initiated the removal of management board chairman Oleh Stupak.Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi announced the decision in a Telegram statement, following Sense Bank’s earlier confirmation that law enforcement officials conducted investigative actions at its head office.NBU Governor Andriy Pyshny told Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Thursday that the NBU will interview Stupak on Aug. 26 as part of an administrative proceeding into his professional fitness, and that it has opened a review of the collective suitability of the bank’s entire supervisory board.On Thursday, Koretskyi ordered the Ministry of Finance to accelerate the sale of Sense Bank, with the sale revenue pledged to Ukraine’s Defense Forces.Ukraine’s EU accession pathThe EU has consistently linked Ukraine’s accession process to its progress on anti-corruption reforms and the rule of law.However, Ukraine is still in the early formal stage of its accession process.After receiving candidate status in 2022 following the full-scale invasion, Kyiv formally began accession in June 2024. By July 2026, it had opened two of six negotiating clusters – the first one, Fundamentals, covering rule of law and anti-corruption, and External Relations, covering foreign, security and defense policy.Currently, Ukraine is seeking to open the Internal Market and Competitiveness clusters next, though Hungary has delayed approval of the relevant screening results.On July 22, the Council of the EU’s Working Party on Enlargement (COELA), made a second attempt to persuade Hungary to approve the screening results for the two clusters for Ukraine and Moldova, but the decision was ultimately postponed to Sept. 1. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.