With the knowledge of former Minister of Justice Herman Halushchenko, the NABU employee Ruslan Maghamedrasulov was placed in a cell "with unpleasant neighbours".
This was stated in court by the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO).
The prosecutor read a phone message from the Deputy Minister of Justice Yevhen Pikalov to Halushchenko, dated July 21, 2025. At that time, Herman Halushchenko had been in office as head of the Ministry of Justice for only six days.
Pikalov wrote that SBU asked him to place the detained head of the NABU unit in a “free cell with unpleasant neighbours” in the Lukyanivka pre-trial detention center. A little later, Pikalov sent Halushchenko a photo of the cell. Halushchenko replied “+”. Pikalov still works at the Ministry of Justice.
Babel has contacted SBU for comment on this matter.
- Halushchenko headed the Ministry of Energy in 2021-2025, and then became Minister of Justice.
- In November 2025, NABU reported on 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 provided and products supplied or being deprived of supplier status.
- From the shown NABU recordings, it became clear that Halushchenko was one of the defendants in the case, and law enforcement officers searched his home. Later, due to the scandal, he was dismissed from the post of Minister of Justice.
- On February 15, Halushchenko was detained while attempting to travel abroad.
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