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Ukraine’s government has moved to sanction businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate and business partner of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid a widening corruption probe that has already ensnared several senior officials.
The decision was announced Wednesday, a day after Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said it had dismantled a high-level criminal organization accused of siphoning large sums from the country’s state-owned nuclear energy operator, Energoatom, through an elaborate kickback and money-laundering scheme.
NABU said the 15-month investigation, codenamed Midas, uncovered a group of so-called “shadow managers” who allegedly infiltrated Energoatom to systematically extort kickbacks from contractors and laundered an estimated $100 million in illicit funds.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a Facebook post that the Cabinet had proposed personal sanctions against Mindich and suspended Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, who served as energy minister until July 2025 and has been named a suspect in the case.
According to NABU, seven individuals have been formally notified of suspicion, including the alleged ringleader, a former adviser to the energy minister, and Energoatom’s executive director for physical protection and security. Five suspects have been detained.
Investigators allege the group forced Energoatom contractors to pay 10% to 15% of their contract values to avoid having payments blocked or losing supplier status - a practice referred to internally as the “shlahbaum,” or “barrier.” NABU said the criminal network effectively seized control of the strategic enterprise, which generates an annual income of more than 200 billion hryvnias (about $4.9 billion).
The agency also uncovered a sophisticated money-laundering operation based in a central Kyiv office allegedly tied to the family of Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russian former lawmaker accused of treason and now a Russian senator. The office maintained detailed “black accounting” tracking the illicit payments, which were moved through a network of offshore firms. Much of the cash was allegedly withdrawn outside Ukraine.
NABU’s Midas operation culminated in more than 70 searches across Kyiv and other regions, involving nearly all of its detectives. Investigators seized large volumes of documents and cash and say the case was built using thousands of hours of audio recordings.
