A major anti-corruption investigation into the state nuclear energy company 'Energoatom' has become one of the most extensive cases currently being examined by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). The authorities uncovered a scheme involving illegal payments from contractors working on projects to strengthen energy infrastructure.
According to the editorial team at Euronews, the operation, codenamed 'Midas', lasted 15 months and involved the analysis of around 1,000 hours of audio recordings.
It is reported that participants in the scheme received 10–15% of the contract value from Energoatom's contractors. According to preliminary data, around $100 million (51.2 billion tenge) may have been laundered through controlled entities.
NABU notes that the strategic management of the enterprise, which has an annual income of more than €4 billion (2.3 trillion tenge), was effectively carried out by 'outsiders without formal authority'.
According to the head of the investigative team, Oleksandr Abakumov, on Monday, officers conducted around 70 searches at the premises of senior officials.
NABU also reported that eight individuals have been served with suspicion notices on charges of bribery, embezzlement, and illicit enrichment. They include:
- Ihor Myronyuk — former adviser to ex-Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, who previously held the position of deputy head of the State Property Fund. Open sources have reported that he also worked as an assistant to Andriy Derkach, who has been a senator of the Russian Federation since 2024.
- Dmytro Basov — former prosecutor and ex-head of Energoatom's nuclear and physical safety department. NABU claims that Myronyuk and Basov controlled the company's procurement.
- Oleksandr Tsukerman — an entrepreneur whom the investigation identifies as a participant in the 'back office' through which funds were allegedly laundered.
Separately, NABU's materials mention Timur Mindich, a businessman and former partner of Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the 'Kvartal 95' company. The investigation considers him the organiser of the scheme.
On 13 November, Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing sanctions against Mindich and Tsukerman. The document states that both are citizens of Israel, which gives them the right to freely leave Ukraine.
NABU has already conducted searches in several premises linked to Mindich, but he left Ukraine before the bureau launched its investigation.
For her part, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko stated that Ukraine is beginning a comprehensive anti-corruption audit of all state-owned companies, including energy ones. According to her, supervisory boards have been tasked with reviewing the activities of enterprises, particularly procurement processes.
Against the backdrop of the investigation, Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk and former Energy Minister — later Minister of Justice — Herman Halushchenko resigned.
At the same time, it is reported that NABU and SAPO are conducting searches at the office and home of the head of the President's Office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, in the government quarter, as part of the corruption investigation in the energy sector.
The involvement of Mindich, who has long been considered a close associate of Zelenskyy, makes the investigation politically significant. The president, for his part, emphasised the need for the case to be brought to court.
'All those who created schemes must receive a clear procedural response. Verdicts must be delivered. And state officials must work together with NABU and law enforcement agencies,' Zelenskyy stated.