The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (AP HACC) will hear an appeal from Maksym Mykytas, a former lawmaker who is a suspect in a money-laundering and raiding case (the "Forrest Gump" and "Femida" operations), against the pretrial restraint imposed on him - detention with an alternative of UAH 30 million bail.
"On Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., a court hearing will be held to consider appeals filed by the defense and the prosecutor against the HACC investigating judge’s ruling of Aug. 21, 2026, which imposed pretrial restraint on the former Ukrainian lawmaker," the AP HACC said on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.
The statement does not name the suspect. It refers to Mykytas.
The hearing will take place at 4 Khrestovyi Lane, Kyiv.
As reported, on Aug. 21 Ukraine’s HACC ordered Mykytas held in custody with an alternative of UAH 30 million bail.
The prosecutor had requested pretrial detention for Mykytas with an alternative bail amount of UAH 200 million.
NABU and SAPO released a video on Aug. 19 on the "Forrest Gump" operation, exposing and issuing notices of suspicion to individuals who legalized UAH 150 million to pay bail for a suspect in the "Midas" case. The group included, among others, a Deputy Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office and a former lawmaker.
NABU and SAPO released a second video on Aug. 20 on corruption involving senior officials, called "Femida," exposing the illegal seizure of real estate and company assets through document forgery.
Later on Aug. 20, NABU and SAPO commented on the previously released videos, "Forrest Gump" and "Femida," on the exposure of corruption schemes involving senior Presidential Office officials and a former and a sitting lawmaker.
"The criminal organization’s activities were aimed, among other things, at seizing high-value real estate and other legal entities’ assets through unauthorized interference in the operation of the Justice Ministry’s information (automated) networks, and the forgery of court rulings and property title documents," NABU said on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to NABU, in the fall of 2025 members of the criminal organization carried out a raider takeover of two enterprises whose assets were worth UAH 248 million. "At the same time, the goal of seizing one of these enterprises was to gain control over real estate in central Kyiv worth more than UAH 500 million," NABU said.
In addition, according to the statement, in May 2026 members of the criminal organization attempted to seize real estate in Kyiv worth more than UAH 207 million, but "due to circumstances beyond their control, were unable to see the crime through to completion."
NABU also said that certain members of the criminal organization, acting in conspiracy with representatives and officials of a state bank, organized and carried out the legalization of proceeds of crime during June 2026.
"This involves UAH 150 million in cash which, through a number of shell company accounts, was brought into legal circulation to pay bail for one of the members of another criminal organization (the ‘Midas’ case)," the statement said.
Based on the evidence obtained, NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors have issued notices of suspicion to members of the criminal organization and individuals they recruited under Articles 255, 191, 206-2, 209, 358 and 361 of the Criminal Code.
One of the suspects in the money-laundering and raiding corruption schemes is former Presidential Office Deputy Head Iryna Mudra. On Aug. 25, the HACC ordered pretrial restraint for her in the form of detention with an alternative of UAH 20 million bail. After the ruling was announced, Mudra said she would try to raise that amount.
During the hearing, Mudra’s lawyers asked the court to examine the body of information from covert investigative actions, which they say shows Mudra was under pressure from another suspect in the case - former lawmaker Maksym Mykytas.
"Of the 237 conversations included in this case, 232 were recorded through one person’s microphone. That person was close to me, I trusted her, and the whole time she was talking to me, she was recording me," Mudra said, apparently referring to Mykytas.
"I ask the court not to conflate private emotions with the existence of criminal intent," she said, adding: "I’m aware of the public attention ... My private conversations ... were used to construct my supposed criminal role. These are ordinary private, so-called kitchen-table conversations."
