NABU raids target Zelensky office deputy over $3.5 million laundering through Sense Bank

NABU and SAPO executed coordinated raids under the Forrest Gump codename after intercepting calls referencing four bags of cash, asset registration in children's names, and direct access to the presidential office. The operation alleges a network including current and former MPs, Justice Ministry officials, and Sense Bank executives gained control of the bank in June 2026 to cycle funds through shell companies. Intercepts explicitly name the Office of the President as a destination for proceeds.

The $3.5 million figure ties directly to bail posted in the Midas investigation of former minister Herman Halushchenko. This follows the flight of several cabinet-level figures to Israel ahead of earlier raids, indicating the pattern of preemptive exits by officials under scrutiny. NABU's public release of the tapes marks a deliberate escalation in transparency that previous Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies avoided.

Western aid packages remain conditioned on demonstrable progress against high-level graft. The involvement of a sitting presidential office deputy undercuts Kyiv's repeated assurances that reform institutions operate independently of political control. Any subsequent political interference in these cases would register immediately in EU and IMF disbursement reviews.

The immediate test is whether Mudra and Stolar face formal charges within the statutory window or whether the investigation stalls at the level of searches. Parallel EU monitoring reports due in September will record whether this operation produces convictions or merely additional headlines.