Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau completes investigation into "Midas" energy graft case

Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) have announced the end of the pre-trial investigation into a large corruption scheme in the energy sector, known as the "Midas" case. Those involved include senior officials of the state nuclear power company Energoatom, a former deputy prime minister and energy minister, and businessman Timur Mindich. The case matters because it concerns a strategic state enterprise and the ministry that oversaw it.

What investigators found

According to investigators, members of the group systematically received illicit payments from Energoatom's contractors and from companies under the Energy Ministry's authority. The payments amounted to 10% to 15% of contract values. Laundering the proceeds was the task of a separate office within the criminal organisation. The sums that investigators established as accumulated in cash and moved to this office from the energy sector in 2020–2025 exceed $111 million and €12 million.

The money was laundered through various financial instruments, including cryptocurrency, securities and a foreign investment fund. Investigators also found that funds from other sources reached the organisation.

During the probe, NABU and the SAP froze assets of the criminal organisation both in Ukraine and abroad. The search for and seizure of assets will continue. Several further proceedings have been split off from the case files, in which investigators continue to examine the giving and receiving of bribes in the energy sector and money laundering on behalf of other people.

Background

On 10 November it emerged that NABU was searching the premises of Mindich and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko. Sources reported that Mindich left the country a few hours before the searches. The bureau published audio recordings in which the suspects were referred to by nicknames. Suspicions were also served on Ihor Myroniuk, a former adviser to the energy minister, and Dmytro Basov, Energoatom's executive director for security, among others. Mindich and businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman left Ukraine. Halushchenko was suspended from office on 12 November. The next day, President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted a security council decision imposing sanctions on Mindich and Tsukerman.