Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Agencies Complete Pre-Trial Investigation Into Midas Energy Case

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have completed their pre-trial investigation into the Midas case, a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector, the bureau announced. The case involves senior officials at state nuclear power operator Energoatom, a former deputy prime minister, a former energy minister and businessman Tymur Mindich.

According to NABU, the investigation found that members of the group "systematically received illicit payments from contractors working with Energoatom and companies under the authority of the Ministry of Energy, amounting to 10-15% of the contract value."

The bureau said a dedicated office within the criminal organisation handled the laundering of the proceeds. "Investigators established that more than US$111 million and €12 million in cash from the energy sector had been accumulated and transferred to this office between 2020 and 2025," NABU stated.

Authorities say the suspects built the scheme to exert influence over strategically important state-owned companies, including Energoatom, in order to obtain illicit payments and launder money. Detectives also established that the criminal organisation received funds from other sources. Cryptocurrency, securities and an overseas investment fund were among the financial instruments used to launder the money.

During the investigation, NABU and SAPO took steps to freeze the criminal organisation's assets both in Ukraine and abroad, and said that efforts to trace and freeze assets will continue. Several other criminal proceedings have spun off from the main case, covering the payment and receipt of unlawful benefits in the energy sector and the laundering of money on behalf of other individuals.

The case first became public on the morning of 10 November 2025, almost a year before the investigation was completed, when NABU searched properties linked to Mindich and former justice minister Herman Halushchenko, who was suspended from his post two days later. Ukrainska Pravda sources reported at the time that Mindich had fled abroad just hours before the searches. On the same day, NABU announced that it had uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme involving the embezzlement of funds in the energy sector and released audio recordings of conversations between individuals implicated in the case.

On 11 November 2025, journalists identified all of the individuals who had been served with notices of suspicion. According to the investigative journalism project Skhemy, the suspects were Mindich, referred to as "Karlsson" in the released recordings; former adviser to the energy minister Ihor Myroniuk, known as "Rocket"; Energoatom's executive director for security Dmytro Basov, or "Tenor"; Oleksandr Tsukerman, called "Sugarman"; Ihor Fursenko, nicknamed "Rioshyk"; and Lesia Ustymenko and Liudmyla Zorina. Five of the suspects were detained, while Mindich and Tsukerman had left Ukraine.

Basov, Myroniuk, Fursenko, Ustymenko and Zorina were placed under pre-trial restrictions with the option of bail. It later emerged that the High Anti-Corruption Court had received bail payments for Ustymenko and Zorina, described as employees of the back office involved in money laundering linked to Energoatom.

On 13 November 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted a decision by the National Security and Defence Council to impose sanctions on Mindich, a co-owner of the Kvartal 95 production studio and an associate of the president, and on businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman.