Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court ordered the detention of former presidential deputy chief of staff Iryna Mudra with bail set at 20 million hryvnias.
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office had requested that the court in Kyiv place Mudra in custody with an alternative bail of 150 million hryvnias. Prosecutors told the court that the suspect's assets could reach 250 million hryvnias and argued that her financial status posed a risk of absconding.
Defense lawyers representing the former deputy head of the Office of the President urged the court not to impose any preventive measure. The defense denied her guilt and argued that the notice of suspicion issued against her was unfounded.
Commenting on the ruling and whether she had the money to post bail, Mudra said she held part of the funds herself and would ask friends and acquaintances for the rest. She added that her lawyers would evaluate the legal grounds for a potential appeal.
During her court appearance, Mudra said she had no intention of fleeing Ukraine or evading the investigation. She rejected the charges against her, stating that private conversations with a person she trusted were used to build a case about her alleged criminal role. Following the initial notice of suspicion, Mudra had expressed readiness to answer every question from investigators through legal means.
The Forest Gump Investigation
Mudra is a suspect in an anti-corruption investigation known as the Forest Gump case. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine stated that investigators uncovered a criminal organization that organized and carried out the laundering of money obtained through criminal means.
According to investigators, the organization included a deputy head of the President's Office, a former member of parliament, the chairman of the board of a state bank, and the chairman of a state bank's supervisory board.
NABU stated that the case involves 150 million hryvnias in cash. Investigators alleged that the funds were funneled through accounts belonging to shell companies to pay bail for a member of a criminal organization involved in a separate probe known as the Midas case.
Authorities have not officially disclosed the identity of the person for whom the bail was posted. However, published audio recordings of conversations feature the name Herman, and the 150 million hryvnia figure matches the bail amount previously set for former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
Presidential Dismissal and Anti-Corruption Oversight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree dismissing Mudra from her position as deputy head of the President's Office on August 19, 2026.
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine operates in Kyiv as a specialized judicial body handling high-level corruption cases investigated by NABU and prosecuted by SAP. The agencies were established as part of Ukraine's anti-corruption legal infrastructure to investigate senior government officials and state-owned entity executives.
Ukrainian lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada, the national parliament, have proposed strengthening oversight regarding the origin of funds used to pay bail for individuals suspected of corruption offenses.
