One of the largest corruption scandals in recent days has been the so-called «Mindichgate», in which close associates of the current President of Ukraine have emerged as central figures. The situation intensified further after the “sudden” disappearance of the main individuals involved in NABU’s operation «Midas» — a development many observers do not consider coincidental.

In connection with the urgent departure of Tymur Mindich to Israel, it was impossible not to recall a similarly urgent evacuation of another key employee of the President’s Office – Rostyslav Shurma, who disappeared from Ukraine a few months earlier and «resurfaced» first in Germany, then in Austria. The reasons for the escape were the same for both – interest in their personas from NABU, which is called the only law enforcement agency not controlled by the President’s Office.

This claim is somewhat exaggerated, but the point is not that, but rather that both «big» political figures – Shurma and Mindich – had reasons to fear a NABU investigation, which, according to rumors, is backed by the FBI. The latter, as everyone understands, couldn’t care less about the «protection» in the form of someone who was, until recently, either the second or the first person in the state, named Andriy Yermak, who headed the presidential office and is considered a key figure in a scheme to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars in Ukraine’s energy sector.

According to NABU investigation data, colossal funds obtained from Western partners for the restoration of Ukraine’s destroyed energy sector and its protection from Russian attacks were stolen through a scheme involving «top» Ukrainian officials and businessmen.

However, amidst the noise surrounding the escape of the scheme’s figures and the clamor of high-profile names, one key question has been lost – if no less than 100 million dollars were stolen, how were these funds withdrawn from the accounts of state enterprises? After all, this is money from our partners, transferred to our country non-cash. Somehow, they had to be converted into the same suitcases and bags of dollars that were so heavy for the green thieves to carry.

Whether there is an answer to this question in the NABU investigation is unknown, but independent sources claim that the money was actively withdrawn through the «Alliance» bank, associated with Rostyslav Shurma, the former deputy head of the President’s Office under Andriy Yermak, who fled Ukraine last year.

Even before information about the «Midas» operation became public and its key figure, Tymur Mindich, fled to Israel, materials began appearing in the press increasingly linking the little-known «Alliance» bank to the President’s Office. The chain led to Rostyslav Shurma, who was still the deputy head of the OPU at the time and was responsible for the economic bloc.

No information about the impending storm was published back then – the first materials about Rostyslav Shurma’s connection to the «Alliance» bank appeared in the spring of 2024 – but, likely, these investigations were the result of corresponding «leaks». Who was behind these «leaks» is unknown, but the information was provided in a very measured and targeted manner. This was confirmed by the events of November 2025, the hero of which was Tymur Mindich, while Andriy Yermak was forced to resign as head of the President’s Office.

Publications about the connection between Rostyslav Shurma and the «Alliance» bank claimed that the bank itself is a mere «laundry» for financial flows withdrawn from Ukraine’s budget, and that people «from Bankova» protect the bank from law enforcement scrutiny. Specifically, the name of Rostyslav Shurma was mentioned. These same materials also featured «Ukrenergo», which was already under close scrutiny by NABU and SAPO, investigating a case of damages in this structure and the withdrawal of funds from it.

Even then, investigators pointed out the strange attitude of the National Bank toward the «Alliance» bank, which clearly «turned a blind eye» to numerous violations by «Alliance». For similar violations, many Ukrainian banks lost their licenses, but «Alliance» got off with small fines and warnings. Investigators claimed that such leniency from the regulator toward «Alliance» was the merit of Rostyslav Shurma, who did everything to ensure the bank did not lose its license.

In a series of publications, the «Alliance» bank was named as an element of a large-scale scheme for the withdrawal and cashing out of dubious financial flows. Additionally, it was claimed that the owner of the «Alliance» bank, Oleksandr Sosis, is a pure nominal figure, while the bank is actually controlled by the head of the «Alliance» Supervisory Board, Pavlo Shcherban, who is closely tied to Rostyslav Shurma. Attention was also drawn to the constant «cleanup» of such materials, which indirectly confirmed the truthfulness of the investigators’ claims.

Symptomatic in terms of the «Alliance» bank’s involvement in withdrawing money from schemes at «Ukrenergo» is the case of the head of the Northern Appellate Economic Court, Oleh Khrypun, who was forced to resign last year after the press took an interest in his assets. Everything here is classic: the judge’s property was worth dozens of times more than his official income.

After the scandal erupted, some details emerged regarding the cases handled by Judge Khrypun. In a number of them, the «Alliance» bank and «Ukrenergo» were involved: it turned out that the Northern Appellate Economic Court, under Oleh Khrypun’s leadership, churned out decisions in favor of the «Alliance» bank, prohibiting it from paying debts to state enterprises. Among them was «Ukrenergo», and the total amount «earned» by the bank in this way was measured in billions of hryvnias.

In this context, the name of Rostyslav Shurma was also mentioned, without whom, as sources claimed, it would have been impossible to «bring down» the previous leadership of «Ukrenergo», which refused to participate in schemes with «Alliance» and Shurma. Notably, the court decisions specifically concerned money allocated for the repair and protection of critical infrastructure amid constant shelling and blackouts.

Although there are no official documents confirming Rostyslav Shurma’s influence on the «Alliance» bank or his authorship of schemes to withdraw billions of hryvnias stolen from the state through this bank, it is important to understand: versions of his involvement in these schemes have gained wide resonance in the independent sector of the internet and among critics of large financial-political groups.

We will soon find out how close these versions are to the truth – the investigation into «Mindichgate» is by no means stopped and is in an active phase. The investigation will inevitably have to examine episodes involving 1.2 billion hryvnias, which the «Alliance» bank refused to return to the state-owned «Ukrenergo».

Moreover, after Rostyslav Shurma’s escape and the disappearance of his boss Andriy Yermak, a major redistribution of flows is looming. During this redistribution, we have a chance to learn a lot about the «predecessors» thanks to whom Ukraine is entering winter practically without electricity.

It will also be interesting to follow the fate of the «Alliance» bank, which has lost its key patrons at the OPG level. Although the «Alliance» bank is not mentioned in official press releases or courts as a participant in the scheme directly related to Mindich, the totality of factors associated with it shows that the bank had serious issues with financial control compliance, yet faced no consequences for it. Additionally, publications about the influence of politically significant figures on the bank’s fate add context to the overall picture of interaction between financial and political elites. All of this makes the «Alliance» bank a promising subject for investigations into financial flows in general and Rostyslav Shurma’s involvement in these flows in particular.