Leaked charges reportedly point to Zelenskyy aide as alleged money laundering organizer

Leaked charges against Iryna Mudra, deputy head of Ukraine’s President’s Office, allegedly identify her superior as the organizer of a money laundering scheme intended to provide bail for former Energy and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, according to Ukrainian media.

The leaked text of the charges, published by Bihus.info late on September 15, does not name the official. It describes the person as a senior official of the President’s Office and Mudra’s direct superior.

According to the document, the official allegedly instructed Mudra to launder cash to cover Halushchenko’s bail and subsequently supervised her actions in the scheme uncovered by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

Bihus.info reported that the description appears to correspond to Kyrylo Budanov, head of the President’s Office, as Mudra reportedly has only one direct superior in the office.

The report also cited alleged transcripts of NABU recordings published by Hromadske in August. The transcripts reportedly contain several references to “Kyrylo,” “Kyrylo Oleksiyovich,” Mudra’s unnamed superior and a senior President’s Office official. Budanov’s surname is also reportedly mentioned directly in the transcripts.

Asked by Hromadske on August 27 about alleged references to him in the recordings, Budanov said: “Let the court sort it out. You know, (my name) comes up in a lot of places.”

The allegations come amid a broader corruption investigation by NABU involving senior Ukrainian officials. The leaked charging document itself does not name Budanov as the alleged organizer, and the reported identification is based on the description of Mudra’s superior and the media’s comparison with the leaked recordings.

The Kyiv Independent said it had requested comments from the President’s Office, Budanov and Mudra. NABU declined to comment.