A judge at Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court has ordered Iryna Mudra, the former deputy head of the Office of the President, held in custody with the option of release on bail of 20 million hryvnias, in the case known as "Forrest Gump." The ruling was reported by Radio Svoboda.
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office had asked the court to detain Mudra with an alternative bail of 150 million hryvnias. Her defense argued that no pretrial restriction was needed at all.
Mudra is a suspect in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine's "Forrest Gump" case, which centers on the alleged laundering of 150 million hryvnias intended to cover bail for a defendant in the separate "Midas" case. She had earlier said she was ready to answer every question put to her by investigators.
Mudra denies receiving money from Mykytas
Speaking in court, Mudra said that claims by former member of parliament Maksym Mykytas that he gave her 4 million dollars were untrue. She said she had never received millions of dollars from Mykytas, whether in cash, through a bank account or in any other form.
She told the court that Mykytas, who also features in the case, had been a close person to her, but that he was the one who had secretly recorded their conversations. According to a court statement cited by the Anti-Corruption Action Center, Mudra said 232 of 237 recorded conversations were captured on one person's microphone, someone she had trusted, who recorded her the entire time. She said she was not being accused over money she took or documents she signed, but over the fact that a person had recorded her while she listened and he spoke.
Mudra says she will try to raise bail
After the court's ruling, Mudra said she would try to gather the required 20 million hryvnias, adding that she partly had her own funds and was also counting on help from friends. When asked how much time she would need to raise the bail, one of her lawyers said the comments had ended.
Background to the case
NABU and SAPO have said they carried out an operation exposing a criminal organization led by several political figures, among them Mudra, sitting member of parliament Vadym Stolar and former MP Maksym Mykytas. Investigators allege the group used the state-owned Sense Bank to legalize illegally obtained funds, including an attempt to legalize 150 million hryvnias to post bail for a participant in the separate "Midas" case.
On 21 August, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Mykytas held in custody with a bail option of 30 million hryvnias in the same investigation.
