The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has partially granted a motion filed by a detective from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and imposed a bail of UAH 3 million on Liudmyla Snihur, director of the financial monitoring department at the state-owned Sense Bank.
The court ordered Snihur to appear when summoned by the detective, the prosecutor, or the court; to report any change in her place of work or residence; not to leave Kyiv region without permission; and to surrender her passports for travel abroad for safekeeping.
In addition, she must refrain from communicating with officials designated by the court and other individuals involved in the criminal proceedings, and must not visit the premises of Sense Bank, the NBU, or the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine.
The prosecution requested that Snihur be remanded in custody for 60 days, with the option to post bail in the amount of UAH 6 million.
According to the prosecution, Snihur provided advice on conducting financial transactions to launder funds intended to post bail for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko and facilitated their unimpeded passage through Sense Bank.
As previously reported, as part of "Forrest Gump" operation conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), law enforcement officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the payment of UAH 150 million in bail for Halushchenko. Sense Bank appears in the investigation files, as some of the relevant transactions were conducted through its accounts.
On August 25, Sense Bank temporarily suspended Snihur from her duties and blocked her access to the bank’s corporate network and systems. This occurred following a request from the National Bank of Ukraine.
On September 2, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure in the form of a UAH 15 million bail on Oleksiy Stupak, chairman of the board of Sense Bank, partially granting the NABU detective’s motion to keep him in custody.
