Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared the suspension of financial assistance to Ukraine due to the corruption scandal with “Energoatom”. The Foreign Ministry of (MFA) Ukraine responded.
A Hungarian official wrote about this on the social network X.
According to him, Hungary will no longer send money to help Ukraine, as it could be better used in its own country. The prime minister also wrote that "it is high time for Brussels to finally understand where their money is actually going".
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi responded by saying that Orban cannot criticize Ukraine for corruption, as he himself is involved in corruption scandals.
In particular, in 2024, Orbánʼs opponent Peter Magyar released an audio recording in which his (Magyarʼs) ex-wife recounts how other government officials had evidence removed from court records in order to hide their role in corrupt business transactions.
After all this, thousands of people protested in Budapest. They demanded the resignation of Hungaryʼs chief prosecutor and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The “Energoatom” case
On November 10, NABU reported a large-scale operation "Midas" to expose corruption in the energy sector.
According to the bureau, “Energoatom” counterparties were forced to pay kickbacks in order to avoid blocking payments for services provided and products delivered or being stripped of supplier status. This practice was called "barrier".
According to NABU, members of the organization systematically received 10-15% of bribes from “Energoatom” counterparties. Using this scheme, they legalized approximately $100 million through an office owned by the family of the former MP and current senator of the Russian Federation Andriy Derkach.
Five people were detained in this case, and seven were declared suspects. Their names were later announced by the SAPO prosecutor at court hearings:
- businessman Tymur Mindich, who appeared in NABU records as “Carlson”. He is considered the organizer of the scheme;
- former advisor to the Minister of Energy Ihor Myronyuk (“Rocket”);
- Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security of JSC NNEGC Energoatom Dmytro Basov (“Tenor”);
- four "employees" of the back office for money laundering: Oleksandr Zukerman ("Sugarman"), Ihor Fursenko ("Rioshyk"), Lesya Ustymenko and Lyudmila Zorina.
Myronyuk, Basov, Zorina, Fursenko, and Ustymenko have already been sent to custody, and sanctions have been imposed against Mindich and Zukerman.
The NABU recordings also show the Minister of Energy, the position held by Herman Halushchenko at the time. He was searched in the case, and on November 12, he was removed from his position as Minister of Justice.
NABU also claims that the participants in the scheme transferred money to the former Deputy Prime Minister. Presumably, this is Oleksiy Chernyshov, who has already been charged with illegal enrichment.
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