NABU and SAPO say that Mindich created a criminal organization, laundered money, and put pressure on Umerov. How they prove it — an analysis of suspicion

Creation of a criminal organization

Tymur Mindich is suspected of having created a criminal organization, to which he recruited Oleksandr Zukerman. They managed it together. According to the prosecutor, Mindich established the rules of conduct and conspiracy and distributed criminal money.

The organization included at least 10 people. Among them are the former advisor to the Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, Ihor Myronyuk (“Rocket”), “back office” employees Lesya Ustymenko and Lyudmila Zorina, the organization’s accountant Ihor Fursenko (“Rioshyk”), the executive director for physical protection and security of “Energoatom” Dmytro Basov (“Tenor”), and the former prosecutor of the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, and now an employee of “Energoatom” Stanislav Huschesov.

Myronyuk and Basov organized a “barrier” scheme. They received bribes from “Energoatom” contractors so that the state-owned company, which cannot be forcibly collected debts during martial law, would pay off these contractors out of turn. The funds received were collected in a separate office and then legalized.

To prove this crime in court, it is necessary to show and substantiate the key feature of a criminal organization — a clear internal hierarchy. To do this, the investigators described three levels of management of the organization in the suspicion. At the first level, Mindich and Zukerman, then Zukerman manages Fursenko, Ustymenko, Zorina and Myronyuk, and Myronyuk manages Basov (read more about this here and here). However, according to Krykun-Trush, this may not be enough.

"The case involves ministers and top officials, and Mindich is a private individual. The investigation does not explain how a businessman could give orders to ministers or their advisors in a subordination format. This looks like a partnership: you — to me, me — to you. Itʼs not like a rigid structure where Mindich is the ʼgodfatherʼ and officials are his soldiers," the former detective believes.

According to him, Mindichʼs influence on those around him is explained by suspicious phrases like "using friendly relations with the president" and "having unconditional authority", but these are political, not legal, categories.

"When the investigation relies on ʼinfluenceʼ instead of specific facts, it is a sign that there is a lack of evidence," says Krykun-Trush.

A separate issue is the role of Herman Halushchenko in the criminal organization. The suspicion indicates that in 2025 Mindich exerted influence on him, but there is no separate episode, as with Umerov. Halushchenko helped Mindich control financial flows in the energy sector, and the latter interceded for him before the president.

In addition, Halushchenko helped Mindich attract Myronyuk and Basov to the organization. Despite all this, it is still impossible to understand from the suspicion what role Halushchenko played in the organization. Krykun-Trush believes that based on the known facts, Halushchenko should be charged with aiding a criminal organization.

So far, he has not been served with a suspicion.

"Laundry", or laundering of funds obtained through criminal means

The money laundering scheme looked like this: a criminal organization obtained funds through criminal means, accumulated them in an office, and legalized them. Other people also used the services of the "laundry" — members of the organization earned 2.2-2.5% of the amount for legalizing their money.

This point of suspicion was criticized by lawyers the most. Previously, it was possible to try a person under the article on laundering of funds obtained illegally only after the court issued a verdict on their illegal origin.

After the Council of Europe concluded the so-called Warsaw Convention in 2005, and Ukraine joined it, Article 209 of the Criminal Code was changed. Now the investigation can simultaneously prove both the illegal origin of money and its laundering — a prior verdict on the illegal origin of money is not required.

So far, investigators have explained the origin of only UAH 2.2 million out of the 311 million that, according to their version, Mindich laundered. They received them through the “Energoatom” scheme. The rest of the amount was received “under unknown circumstances”.

Investigators call the funds criminal for two reasons. Firstly, there are no legal sources of origin for the funds. Secondly, when it came to money, members of the organization hid, conspired, and covered their tracks. Investigators call this “criminal behavior”.

"In the suspicion, the investigation says that the ʼmoney is dirtyʼ, but does not explain who, when, to whom, and for what gave the bribe, which was then ʼlaunderedʼ. If there is no crime-source (predicate), then technically it could be tax evasion or shadow business, but not laundering. You canʼt just say: ʼWe donʼt know where these millions came from, but since they went through offshore and were hidden, it means they are criminalʼ," explains Krykun-Trush.

However, the article on money laundering has its own nuance. Since it is difficult to prove this crime, the updated Article 209 of the Criminal Code allows it to be done based on a set of indirect evidence.

In addition, the defendants, despite the presumption of innocence, must themselves prove that they received the money honestly. If Mindich does not do this, this will be one of the indirect evidences of his guilt.

Influence on Defense Minister Rustem Umerov

On July 8, 2025, Tymur Mindich called Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The investigation claims that during the conversation, Mindich tried to force the official to put pressure on the “military acceptance” so that it would accept 10 thousand bulletproof vests without quality checks, and the State Operation of Rear (DOT) would pay according to the contract.

This is a contract between the State Operator of the Rear and LLC “Milikon UA” for UAH 217 520 000, which was previously criticized by the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense, in particular its representative Tetyana Nikolayenko. The bulletproof vests failed acceptance twice.

The investigation cites a conversation where Mindich presses, cursed, and says that “half of the money is mine”.

“It sounds ugly, but legally it’s a unstable construct. Aggressive lobbying, a ʼfriendshipʼ request, or emotional pressure is not always a crime,” the former detective believes.

This article assumes that the influence was illegal, meaning, for example, it involved threats of physical violence, blackmail with compromising material, or outright bribery.

According to the lawyer, this is what Mindichʼs defense will likely base its strategy on — insisting that "it was an emotional conversation by a businessman who was losing investments, but he did not threaten to kill the minister or shove a suitcase of money into his hands during the call".

"This episode can be proven if Umerov gives testimony to NABU and says that he perceived the conversation with Mindich as pressure and a threat. But if Umerov was threatened, then NABU will have to recognize him as a victim," says Krykun-Trush.

The fact that this allegation is based on one conversation, according to the lawyer, is quite enough. This article does not need either systematicity or consequences.

As for the case as a whole, former SAPO prosecutor Stanislav Bronevytskyi says that it is important that the investigation has various evidence, not just the recordings, otherwise problems may arise in court.

Firstly, the defense will demand an examination of the voices of the accused to confirm that it is they who are on the recordings. And if there are most likely no problems with the defendants who are in Ukraine, then it will not be possible to take voice samples from Mindich and Zukerman.