All known details of Ukraine's massive energy corruption scandal
On November 10, NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office) conducted a large-scale "Midas" operation to expose corruption in the energy sector. As it turned out, high officials were involved in the criminal organization. Tymur Mindich and Herman Halushchenko from President Zelensky`s close circle are among them.
In the morning of November 10, reports began to spread in the mass media about the search for the businessman and co-owner of "Kvartal 95" Timur Mindich, former Minister of Energy and Minister of Justice Herman Galushchenko, and at the "Energoatom" enterprise.
The media reported that Timur Mindich left Ukraine on the night of November 10, a few hours before he was searched. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stated that it cannot comment on third-party border crossings.
NABU informed that the work on exposing the criminal organization lasted 15 months. The members of the group built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic enterprises of the public sector, in particular JSC NAEK "Energoatom".
NABU unveiled a series of recordings of conversations between "Rocket" and "Tenor" discussing "kickbacks".
"Roket" is the so-called "watchdog" of the Energoatom enterprise, Igor Myronyuk, the ex-deputy head of the State Property Fund, the assistant of the stateless ex-deputy Andrii Derkach, who was an adviser to the Minister of Energy before the Cabinet of Ministers was updated in 2025, i.e. an adviser to Herman Galushchenko, left Ukraine and is now serving as Senator in one of the regions of Russia.
"Tenor" is a former law enforcement officer who served as executive director of physical protection and security at Energoatom Dmytro Basov. Who is a former high-ranking Ukrainian prosecutor who served as head of the Prosecutor General's Office's Department for Investigation of Offenses Committed by Criminal Organizations until his 2019 dismissal amid corruption scandals. He later transitioned to the energy sector as Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security at Energoatom.
The voices of the "Professor" - ex-Minister of Energy Galushchenko and "Carlson" - Timur Mindich are also heard in the conversation.
How the Corruption Scheme Operated
The core of the criminal network’s operation revolved around systematic bribery from Energoatom’s business partners. Contractors were forced to pay kickbacks ranging from 10% to 15% of each contract’s value. Those who refused risked delayed payments, canceled agreements, or losing their supplier status altogether. Within the group, this scheme was known as the “barrier.”
At the top of the organization stood a former deputy head of the State Property Fund — later an adviser to the energy minister — and a former law enforcement officer who became Energoatom’s security director. Leveraging their political and institutional connections, they effectively seized control of personnel appointments, procurement decisions, and financial flows inside the state nuclear company.
As a result, a strategic enterprise with annual revenues exceeding 200 billion hryvnias (around $4.7 billion) was being steered not by authorized officials but by external actors — individuals with no formal authority who dictated operations from the shadows.
Energoatom cooperates with the investigation. Investigative actions within the framework of the anti-corruption operation are underway at the Energoatom office.
NABU exposed an office in the center of Kyiv that belonged to the family of ex-Nardeput Andriy Derkach. It legalized illegally obtained funds—about 100 million US dollars. The figures in the case kept "black bookkeeping" and received interest payments from the transferred amounts.
During the search of the office of one of the co-organizers of the corruption scheme, they found a notebook with the imprint "Security Service of the President of Russia" and the corresponding symbols.
Meanwhile, the Supervisory Board of "Energoatom" stated that it takes seriously the recent accusations of corruption related to the employees of Energoatom.
The company will convene a special meeting to assess the situation and determine appropriate actions comprehensively. This will include: initiating an independent review of relevant operations and a comprehensive assessment of the company's internal procedures and control systems.
Probably, Timur Mindich led the criminal group. NABU revealed new details of the corruption scheme. It became known that "Carlson" was the head of a criminal group and controlled the operation of the "laundry room" where the funds received were laundered. Timur Mindich probably appeared under this name in the case.
From the obtained voice reocordings it became clear that Timur Mindich planned to spend the stolen funds on the purchase of a house in Switzerland worth about $6 million.
Currently, Mindich and six others are suspected in the Energoatom case. NABU detectives have already detained five individuals involved in the corruption scheme in the energy sector.