"Midas," "Forrest Gump" and "Themis": The corruption web ensnaring Ukraine Akper Hasanov on Kyiv’s latest political scandals

As a devastating war rages on, Ukraine finds itself hit by a fresh wave of high-level corruption scandals. Ukrainian society had barely processed the initial shock of "Forrest Gump" — a special operation led by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) — when a new round of revelations surfaced.

The "Forrest Gump" investigation centres on $3.36 million in cash that investigators allege was laundered to post bail for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, a key figure in a separate multi-million-dollar energy sector fraud probe.

In audio recordings released to the public, Iryna Mudra, who served as deputy head of the Presidential Office at the time, is heard discussing with a colleague how to post bail "for Herman" without drawing scrutiny from law enforcement or financial regulators. Their conversation touches on structuring the money into tranches of $1.12 million, distributing payments among several individuals, routing transactions through state-owned Sense Bank, and figuring out how to handle and count physical bags of cash.

The intercepted recordings reveal discussions involving the key figure in the "Midas" case — businessman Timur Mindich, referenced in the audio as the "Israeli refugee Timur." Despite having fled Ukraine to evade prosecution, Mindich, a long-time associate and business partner of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reportedly maintains active communications with the deputy head of the Presidential Office alongside current and former members of the Verkhovna Rada.

The dialogue features a highly controversial statement attributed to Mudra regarding the state's approach to systemic fraud: "It is impossible to fight corruption here. That is the wrong approach. It needs to be systematized and controlled." The public dissemination of this remark has triggered widespread outrage, serving as evidence for critics that institutional corruption remains deeply entrenched within the country's governance structures.

These concerns are further heightened by newly disclosed details from Operation "Themis," a joint action by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) targeting a major corporate raiding network. Investigators established that the organization hired hackers who posed as state registrars to breach Ministry of Justice databases, manipulating ownership records and uploading falsified court decisions.

Through these illegal digital intrusions, the network seized enterprise assets valued at over $5.56 million in late 2025 and launched an effort to claim valuable real estate in Kyiv in May 2026. 

"To execute their scheme, the suspects engaged hackers who, disguised as state registrars, gained unauthorized access to the register of legal entities and entered forged documents along with false data transferring ownership rights from legitimate owners to nominee figures," the National Bureau noted, emphasizing that the operational scheme likely relied on collusion from active and former lawmakers, judges, and senior officials within both the Ministry of Justice and the Presidential Office.

Public speculation surrounding these investigations points to the continued involvement of key political and corporate figures, notably Iryna Mudra and Maksym Mykytas. Mykytas, a former member of parliament and former head of the Ukrbud construction corporation, has been implicated in multiple criminal proceedings and anti-corruption inquiries, including Operation "Forrest Gump."

The escalating series of scandals has drawn harsh criticism from opposition politicians. Volodymyr Ariev, an MP from the European Solidarity party and former Vice-President of PACE, publicly challenged the presidency regarding the integrity of the administration: "To President Zelenskyy: Is there anyone left in your Presidential Office who isn't under suspicion? Both real and potential? Maybe it's finally time to thoroughly clean out your office after Yermak, assuming the latter isn't heading a shadow Office. I am not the only one asking these questions. The public, whose trust in the government is rapidly eroding, also needs answers. Patience is not infinite. Either these seven-year-old Augean stables must finally be cleaned out, or there will be a social explosion. Because people have had enough."

These political reactions mirror a broader slide in public trust and declining approval ratings for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The erosion of political support is unfolding under increasingly challenging conditions, as high-level corruption allegations involving presidential appointees and close associates coincide with sustained missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, severely testing the nation's defensive capabilities.