On November 16, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko regarding reforms in the energy sector and related areas.
He wrote about this in Telegram.
According to the Head of State, he instructed:
- the government — to prepare a draft law on updating the composition of the National Energy and Utilities Commission;
- to update the management of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate and the State Energy Supervision Inspectorate;
- the Prime Minister — to propose to the Verkhovna Rada a candidate for the position of Head of the State Property Fund;
- to update the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and appoint a new head by the end of the year;
- to audit and prepare for sale the assets of Russian companies and collaborators so that they work for the benefit of Ukraine and the budget.
"All such facilities must work one hundred percent in the interests of Ukraine, to ensure our defense and replenish the budget of Ukraine," the president said.
Svyrydenko stated that the government is preparing a decision on the renewal of state bodies in the energy sector. In particular, this concerns the renewal of the National Commission for the Regulation of Energy and Utilities of Ukraine, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, the State Energy Supervision Inspectorate, and the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
In addition, according to the Prime Minister, ARMA will conduct an internal audit of employees who appear in the NABU materials and make appropriate personnel decisions.
On November 15, Zelensky ordered to update the management of key state-owned enterprises in the energy sector. It will begin with a financial audit of activities and updating the management structure.
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 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 recordings as "Carlson" and 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 Dmitry 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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