President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following a meeting with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, stated that the privatization of Sense Bank should take place without any delays by the end of 2026. The statement came against the backdrop of the most acute reputational scandal surrounding the bank since its nationalization.
From "Alfa-Bank" to state asset — a brief background
The NBU made the decision to withdraw the bank from the market on July 20, 2023. The very next day, the Cabinet of Ministers purchased its shares from the Deposit Guarantee Fund — thus the former "Alfa-Bank Ukraine" owned by Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven was transformed into a state asset called Sense Bank. The state positioned this from the beginning as a temporary measure: according to a memorandum with the IMF, the bank, along with Ukrgasbank, was identified as a priority for privatization.
What are the "Minditch tapes" and why do they complicate the sale
On May 1, Ukrainska Pravda published new fragments of the "Minditch tapes" — recordings from the circle of businessman Igor Minditch. In a conversation from May 9, 2025, Minditch's accountant Oleksandr Tsukerman and Vasyl Veselyi — a person media outlets called an informal "overseer" from the Presidential Office monitoring the bank — listed by name the desired composition of Sense Bank's supervisory board. Forty days later, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed these exact individuals.
"Any information in the media, regardless of its level of reliability, can create reputational risks for a systemically important state bank, which potentially could affect the conditions of its future privatization"
— Sense Bank, comment to Interfax-Ukraine
The scandal has already taken on an institutional dimension: the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada called representatives from the NBU, the Ministry of Finance, and the bank itself to a hearing. Tsukerman is involved in the NABU case "Midas" — concerning informal influence over personnel decisions in the state sector.
Why the state is in a hurry — and where it's heading
Privatization is not only a political signal but also a commitment. Ukraine has undertaken to reduce the state's share in the banking sector under the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program — currently seven banks with over 54% share remain under state control. According to a source from Forbes Ukraine in the Cabinet of Ministers, the government plans to complete the selection of a financial advisor for the bank sale by June 2026.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) noted that transparent privatization of Sense Bank could become a decisive signal for the return of international investors to the Ukrainian banking market overall.
Buyers: there is interest, but no queue
Dragon Capital founder Tomasz Fiala publicly expressed interest in acquiring the bank — but, as Forbes Ukraine noted back in 2023, interest does not equal an offer. By assessments, there is still no queue of real investors: potential buyers are deterred not only by the active phase of the war but also by the reputational baggage from the "Minditch tapes," which calls into question the quality of corporate governance at the institution.
- Asset: one of the country's largest banks, formerly owned by Russian shareholders
- Problem: scandal involving informal influence over the supervisory board — despite official appointment procedures
- Constraint: IMF commitments require the sale, but market conditions do not guarantee a fair price
- Risk: urgent sale under deadline pressure could mean a cheaper asset and a weaker buyer
First Deputy Head of the NBU Kateryna Rozhkova stated back in March 2025 that privatization "seems unlikely this year" due to the complexity of the process — and this was before the new "tapes."
If the financial advisor is not selected by the end of June 2026, or if the scandal with the supervisory board continues at NABU, Zelenskyy's deadline will turn into yet another public intention without an implementation mechanism — and then the question will no longer be about the timeline for the sale, but about who and at what price will agree to buy a bank with a scandalous background in the midst of war.
