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Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on Monday charged former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko with money laundering and organized crime as part of the sweeping energy-sector probe known as “Operation Midas.”
The charges were announced just one day after the former minister was detained while attempting to leave the country, according to a statement from the anti-graft agency.
Investigators allege that Halushchenko’s family members were investors in an investment fund headed by a long-time associate of a criminal organization specializing in professional money laundering services.
The fund is the central focus of NABU’s ongoing "Operation Midas" probe which so far uncovered a network of "shadow managers" who allegedly infiltrated the state-owned nuclear utility, Energoatom, to systematically extort kickbacks from contractors. Investigators estimate the group laundered approximately $100 million in illicit funds.
Halushchenko reportedly concealed his involvement in the scheme using two shell companies registered in the Marshall Islands. These companies were integrated into a trust based in St. Kitts and Nevis, with the former minister’s ex-wife and four children listed as the ultimate beneficiaries.
According to NABU, over $7.4 million was transferred into fund accounts controlled by Halushchenko’s family. Meanwhile, more than 1.3 million Swiss francs ($1.6 million) and 2.4 million euros ($2.8 million) were allegedly withdrawn in cash and delivered to his family in Switzerland.
The agency further said that a portion of the proceeds was used to fund the former official’s children's education in Switzerland, while some was deposited into accounts belonging to his ex-wife. The remaining funds were placed in a deposit account, from which Halushchenko's family withdrew money.
By mid-November 2025, NABU had conducted more than 70 searches across Kyiv and other regions, involving nearly all of its detectives, as part of the sweeping operation. Investigators seized large volumes of documents and cash and say the case was built using thousands of hours of audio recordings.
This arrest follows earlier high-profile actions in November, when Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court jailed former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, setting bail at 51 million hryvnias (nearly $1.21 million). Other figures, including Energoatom executive Dmytro Basov, former energy adviser Ihor Myroniuk, accountant Ihor Fursenko, and alleged facilitators Lesia Ustymenko and Lyudmyla Zorina, have also received multi-million-hryvnia bail orders.
