On August 21, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) imposed pre-trial detention on former Member of Parliament and former head of Ukrbud Maksym Mykytas, with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of UAH 30 million. This was reported by UNN.
Details
It should be noted that the prosecution requested bail in the amount of UAH 200 million. However, during the court hearing, Mykytas stated that he was ready to cooperate with the investigation. At the same time, he called the criminal proceedings against him a "political manipulation."
Mykytas's lawyer, in turn, tried to convince the presiding judge that the amount of bail should be "manageable" for his client. After all, according to the lawyer, the former head of Ukrbud does not possess the UAH 200 million insisted upon by the state prosecutor.
The defense lawyer also explained why detention was not the best pre-trial measure for his client. The lawyer told the court that Mykytas did not own financial or business assets in other countries and had no close persons, relatives, or simply good acquaintances abroad. Therefore, he had no motivation to leave Ukraine.
The lawyer placed particular emphasis on the fact that Mykytas himself had agreed to cooperate with the investigation. Consequently, he would not hide from justice. Therefore, it was entirely unnecessary to resort to such a pre-trial measure as arrest.
However, his arguments did not convince the presiding judge.
Context
Mykytas is one of the suspects in the case being investigated by NABU and SAPO as part of the special operation "Forest Gump." According to the investigation, he may have been involved, together with other individuals, in the activities of a criminal organization engaged in corporate raiding and the legalization of funds.
One of the episodes in the proceedings concerns UAH 150 million which, according to the investigation, was to be legalized through controlled companies and used to post bail for one of the suspects in another anti-corruption investigation—the "Midas" operation.
The investigative materials state that in June 2026, participants in the alleged criminal organization received UAH 150 million in cash, which they planned to move through a number of companies in order to make it appear to be funds of legal origin. The money was subsequently supposed to be used as bail. According to anti-corruption organizations, this concerned bail for former Minister of Energy and Justice Herman Halushchenko.
In addition, NABU and SAPO link the group's activities to the alleged corporate raiding of two enterprises in the autumn of 2025. Law enforcement officials estimate the value of their assets at approximately UAH 248 million. The investigation is also examining an attempt to seize other real estate in Kyiv worth more than UAH 200 million.
According to NABU, forged court decisions and documents, interference with the electronic accounts of state registrars, and the registration of corporate rights in the names of nominal owners may have been used in implementing the schemes.
Mykytas's defense denies the criminal nature of the actions attributed to him. The lawyers claimed that the actions concerning certain enterprises were aimed at restoring the businessman's property rights, which, in their version, had previously been violated.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
Reminder
Maksym Mykytas became one of the suspects in the NABU and SAPO special operation called "Forest Gump," which the anti-corruption agencies announced on August 19.