The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) are conducting investigative actions (searches) at the office of the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. According to NABU’s Telegram channel, the investigative actions have been authorized and are being carried out as part of the investigation.
“Details to follow,” the message added.
Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram: “NABU has already confirmed to journalists that the searches are part of Operation Midas (popularly known as Mindichgate). Zheleznyak previously reported that in the context of the ”Mindich tapes“ on corruption in the energy sector, Yermak was mentioned under the pseudonym ”Ali Baba.”
According to the Anti-Corruption Center, details of the search at Yermak’s residence will be available “soon,” but at the same time, the ACC noted that NABU does not have the legal right to investigate the activities of the Ukrainian president. “NABU does not have the legal right to investigate the activities of the president. This restriction has been in place since its creation. Similarly, the FBI does not have the right to investigate the president of Ukraine due to diplomatic immunity. Therefore, Zelensky is not under any threat, and the commander-in-chief can and must continue to defend Ukraine from the occupiers,“ the Anti-Corruption Action Center said in a post on its Telegram channel.
During the discussion ”Mindychegate. Discussion with NABU, SAP, and veteran Kozyatinsky,“ a video of which was posted on the Ukrainian Truth YouTube channel, when asked whether Ali Baba continues to hold meetings and set tasks for the prosecution of NABU and SAP, SAP head Alexander Klimenko said, ”Yes.” NABU Director Semen Kryvonos responded to this question as follows: “I want to wake up in a country where law enforcement officials do not attend meetings with fairy-tale characters.”
As reported, on November 25, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, was questioned by NABU as a witness in the case of businessman Timur Mindich’s back office.
On November 10, NABU and SAP announced a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector, which was named “Midas.” The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented, whose members have built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC “NAEK ”Energoatom.” Energoatom confirmed that investigative actions were carried out at the company on November 10.
Among those identified by NABU as participants in the Midas scheme are Sergey Pushkar, a member of the National Energy Regulatory Commission (NKREKU), businessman Timur Mindich, former executive director for physical protection and security at Energoatom Dmitry Basov, and former advisor to the Minister of Energy and former deputy chairman of the State Property Fund Igor Mironyuk.
The main activity of the criminal organization was the systematic receipt of illegal benefits from Energoatom’s contractors in the amount of 10% to 15% of the contract value.
In particular, Energoatom’s contractors were forced to pay kickbacks to avoid having their payments for services rendered/products supplied blocked or losing their supplier status. Using their connections in the ministry and the state-owned company in particular, the former deputy chairman of the FGIU, who later became an advisor to the Minister of Energy, as well as a former law enforcement officer who held the position of executive director for physical protection and security at Energoatom, ensured control over personnel decisions, procurement processes, and the movement of financial flows.
Eight individuals, including former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, have already been named as suspects.
Mindyich left Ukraine on November 10, a few hours before the searches. According to the State Border Service of Ukraine, he left on legal grounds.
Corruption in the energy sector is systemic and long-standing. Since 2022, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) have been investigating five high-profile cases in the energy sector, according to anti-corruption authorities.
On Tuesday, NABU and SAP posted an infographic on criminal cases in the energy sector on their Telegram channel, which, in particular, highlights the Energoatom case with losses to the state of UAH 100 million, which is currently being considered in court, and the Ukrenergo case, with losses of UAH 600 million, which is also at the stage of judicial review.
In addition, the completion of the pre-trial investigation of the Kharkivoblenergo case, with losses to the state amounting to UAH 12.6 million, and the court’s consideration of the case of bribery by the Deputy Minister of Energy are mentioned, as well as the Energoatom case on kickbacks from contractors, which is still under investigation.
“Not just Midas: 5 high-profile cases of NABU and SAP in the energy sector since 2022,” the anti-corruption authorities said in a statement.
“The criminal organization that was exposed during Operation Midas is only part of a much bigger problem. Corruption in Ukraine’s energy sector is systemic and long-standing. NABU and SAP cases in this area cover various levels: from direct bribery in the ministry to large-scale market manipulation and theft of resources at state-owned enterprises,” NABU and SAP note.
The statement notes that anti-corruption agencies continue to consistently expose these crimes regardless of the political context or the names of those involved. “Cases are brought to court, and new challenges receive an immediate response. The work to clean up one of the most strategic and at the same time most corrupt industries will continue in the future,” NABU and SAP assure.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is unlikely to be able to establish how large sums of foreign currency cash used by those involved in the Midas case entered Ukraine
“Midas,” so it proposes to introduce a special form of accounting, said the head of the NABU detective unit, Alexander Abakumov, who is leading the case.
“This is the second time we have encountered such a large amount of money that arrived in Ukraine in packages from the US Federal Reserve Bank. And for the second time, we will obviously find ourselves in a situation where we will not get an answer to the question of how they got into Ukraine,” he said at a meeting of the Temporary Investigation Commission (TIC) on Economic Security chaired by People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Voice) in Kyiv on Monday.
According to him, the US Federal Reserve System records who it sells these funds to, but in Europe, while in Ukraine no one is doing this.
“There is a proposal to the People’s Deputies to introduce a form of accounting for the import of such amounts of cash into Ukraine, to whom they are sold, and this, in fact, will be a great contribution to preventing such situations,” the NABU representative concluded.
Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine Dmytro Oliynyk thanked him for this proposal.
“We will consider it, and I will report back,” he said at the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee.
Zheleznyak also confirmed his readiness to consider this proposal in the Rada.
He recalled that specifically in the case of Operation Midas, we are talking about the so-called “white” (and not new “blue”) dollars found in the case files, in Federal Reserve packaging, totaling about $4 million.
Oliynyk stated that Ukraine currently does not have a unique registry that would allow the barcode and FRB packaging number to be verified and the origin of these banknotes in Ukraine to be determined.
“Regarding how the bills are imported in general. Currently, there are eight banks that import dollars and euros into Ukraine. Some of them use them only for their own purposes, while others sell them to banks and other participants in the financial market,” said the National Bank representative, describing the current state of cash currency imports.
According to him, billions of dollars are imported into Ukraine, and it is impossible to single out a specific million without a registration system.
“Plus, imports are not only taking place during the war, they have been happening constantly: old banknotes are being taken out, new ones are being brought in, and it is impossible to say for sure where this million was, whether it was in a bank, on the gray market, or in some collection company or exchange office,” Oliynyk stated.
He said that the National Bank had begun collecting information on the system in order to summarize how banks trade currency among themselves and who uses it for their own purposes. “But we are talking about transactions worth billions of dollars. It is difficult to single out a small amount,” the deputy chairman emphasized once again.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) are conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector, according to a report on NABU’s Telegram channel on Monday morning.
“15 months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented. Its members have built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC ”NAEK “Energoatom.” Details to follow,” the message says.
A message with identical content was published on the SAP’s Telegram channel.
Earlier, the media and MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Golos faction) reported on searches at the home of Timur Mindich, co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Minister of Justice Herman Galushchenko, and at NAEK Energoatom JSC.
Zheleznyak said that the statement on corruption at Energoatom was filed by him and his colleagues. According to the MP, “Mindyich, Herman, Energoatom — all are in our investigation and in one subsequent statement to NABU.”
Later, he wrote in a telegram that “this is not all.”
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka has met with civil society experts for the second time in a week to discuss preserving the full functionality of the law-enforcement and anti-corruption systems.
According to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the key issue on the agenda is the discussion of the draft law No. 13533 on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and some legislative acts of Ukraine on strengthening the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) submitted by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the Verkhovna Rada.
“Thank you for your willingness to open dialog and cooperation. Thanks, in particular, to your expertise and preliminary consultations it was possible as quickly as possible to work out a draft of legislative changes aimed at responding to the challenges and ensure the institutional independence of the anti-corruption system,” – quotes Kachka press service.
He emphasized that such interaction between the public sector and civil society is already becoming systemic, and noted that further regular coordination with representatives of civil society is planned.
It is noted that during the meeting the parties also discussed the issues of realization of transformations provided for by the Roadmap in the field of the rule of law – in particular related to the further functioning of law enforcement agencies.
As reported, on July 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced a bill to the Verkhovna Rada regarding the powers of NABU and SAP.
BILL, NABU, САП, Тарас Качка
Head of business security practice at Juscutum law firm Oleksandr Horobets supported the adopted amendments to the CPC regarding NABU and SAP.
“Instead of political manipulation – legal clarity. Bill No. 12414 for the first time clearly establishes the boundaries of authority and raises the standards of human rights protection,” he said in a comment transmitted to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Wednesday.
In his opinion, in the framework of expanding the powers of the Prosecutor General, the law returns the situation to the legal field, because the expansion of the competence of the SAP from January 1, 2024, according to the law №3509-IX, contradicted the norm of the Constitution that the powers of the Prosecutor General can not be transferred to another prosecutor.
“A significant achievement of the draft law is the elimination of the destructive practice of conducting searches without court orders. The draft clearly limits this right exclusively to cases where there is an urgent need to save a person’s life, health, sexual freedom, safety or to preserve evidence of these crimes. This approach is worthy of the highest praise, because it is a direct step towards strengthening the guarantees of protection of the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens from unjustified interference in private life”, – the head of Juscutum’s business security practice is of the opposite opinion to the UBA.
He added that the adopted law also provides a number of additional guarantees for the participants of the proceedings, in particular, the request to extend the pre-trial investigation up to 12 months must now be coordinated personally by the Prosecutor General, and his deputies will not have such a right.
Horobets believes that the adopted law leaves a wide range of legal opportunities for this NABU to work in a civilized and productive manner, and reminds that the expansion of powers of the SAP occurred only from January 1, 2024, and before that this body also worked effectively.
The lawyer also noted that the changes made concern all law enforcement agencies and structures, not only anti-corruption, so we should not talk about selective intervention.
“Bill No. 12414 is not a threat, but an important step towards a more efficient, constitutional and human rights-based justice system in Ukraine. It is designed to eliminate imbalances, strengthen guarantees of citizens’ rights and make the work of law enforcement agencies more transparent and responsible,” summarized the head of Juscutum’s business security practice.
