The HACC arrested Maksym Mykytas with bail set at UAH 30 million

On August 21, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) ordered a preventive measure for former Member of Parliament and former head of Ukrbud Maksym Mykytas in the form of detention with the possibility of posting bail of UAH 30 million. This was reported by UNN.

Details

It should be noted that the prosecution had requested bail 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, for his part, tried to convince the presiding judge that the amount of bail should be "affordable" for his client. After all, according to him, the former head of Ukrbud does not have the UAH 200 million insisted upon by the state prosecutor.

The defense lawyer also explained why detention was not the best preventive measure for his client. The lawyer argued that Mykytas does not own financial or business assets in other countries and has no close people, relatives, or simply good acquaintances abroad. Therefore, he has no motivation to leave Ukraine.

The lawyer placed particular emphasis on the fact that Mykytas himself had agreed to cooperate with the investigation. Therefore, he would not hide from justice. Consequently, it was highly unnecessary to resort to such a preventive measure as detention.

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 money laundering.

One of the episodes in the proceedings concerns UAH 150 million which, according to the investigation, was to be laundered through controlled companies and used to post bail for one of the suspects in another anti-corruption investigation—the "Midas" operation.

The investigation materials state that in June 2026, participants in the alleged criminal organization received UAH 150 million in cash, which they planned to transfer through a number of companies in order to make it appear to be legally sourced funds. 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 autumn 2025. Law enforcement officers 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 rulings 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 carrying out the schemes.

Mykytas's defense denies the criminal nature of the actions of which he is accused. 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 pretrial 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 bodies announced on August 19.