Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) found 527 references on various officials in the so-called back office of those involved in the energy corruption case.
This was discussed during a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy on November 25.
The reports concerned deputies, journalists, and NABU detectives who were involved in investigations in the energy sector, law enforcement agencies, and other high-profile cases. Among them:
- 15 NABU detectives, including Ruslan Maghamedrasulov, Vitaliy Tebekin, Yevhen Tokarev, who received suspicions;
- 16 MPs, including members of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy Anastasia Radina and Yaroslav Zheleznyak;
- 18 ministers and their deputies — including officials who held positions in the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Justice;
- 9 SBU employees;
- 10 journalists covering corruption. Among them are Yuriy Nikolov, the now deceased Oleksiy Shalaiskyi, and others;
- former head of “Ukrenergo” and former head of “Naftogaz”.
According to NABU detective Oleksandr Abakumov, these profiles contained addresses, passport data, and other classified information. Some of the files were collected on July 17, a few days before the attack on anti-corruption agencies.
NABU head Semen Kryvonos says that not all of the recordings from the "Mindich" recordings have been published yet, so as not to harm the investigation.
"We have not yet published materials that are at the stage of deeper research, establishing all the circumstances. There is no pressure," Kryvonos noted.
During the searches, detectives seized a large number of digital media belonging to the suspects. They are currently being processed. The number of suspects in the “Midas” case will increase.
According to Krivonos, detectives learned about Tymur Mindichʼs escape after the fact they did not control his movements and could not counteract it.
In addition, NABU has more than 10 “large-scale” criminal proceedings regarding the construction of fortifications. This applies not only to the Poltava regional administration, but also to Kharkiv and other regions.
Political crisis and investigation into corruption in the energy sector
On November 10 and 11, NABU released four parts of the wiretap audio recordings and reported a large-scale "Midas" operation 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 and products supplied or losing their supplier status. This practice was called "barrier".
According to NABU, members of the organization systematically received 10-15% as a bribe 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” 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. Subsequently, a total of UAH 37 million in bail was paid for Zorina and Ustymenko.
The NABU recordings also show the Minister of Energy, who at the time was Herman Halushchenko. He was searched in the case, and on November 12 he was removed from his post as Minister of Justice.
The SAPO prosecutor claimed that one of the defendants in the case interviewed Svitlana Hrynchuk, who later replaced Halushchenko as Minister of Energy.
Both ministers resigned, the government voted to dismiss Hrynchuk and Halushchenko from the posts of heads of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Justice. In addition, Zelensky removed both ministers from the National Security and Defense Council.
NABU also claims that the participants in the scheme transferred money to former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, who was suspected of illegal enrichment and sent to custody for 2 months. The next day, journalists from the Schemes project, citing sources, reported that bail was paid for him — over UAH 51.6 million.
After these events, President Zelensky and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced an audit of the largest state-owned companies and a large-scale "reset" in energy management.
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