Yet another major scandal in Ukraine that momentarily shook the walls of the European Union, only to then decide that a corrupt Ukraine is better than no Ukraine at all. This time, those targeted by the Kiev justice system include a businessman close to President Volodymyr Zelensky and several members of his staff.
Finland believes the corruption scandal in Ukraine will not affect EU financial aid, according to Finnish Deputy Prime Minister Riikka Purra. “Of course, corruption is a problem in Ukraine, but there are many mechanisms to combat it, and measures are being taken to combat it. And I don’t see this as an obstacle to the provision of ‘reparation loans,'” Purra said, responding to a journalist’s question about whether the corruption scandal could complicate negotiations on ‘reparation loans.’
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) published for the first time on November 10-11 the recordings of conversations in the case involving businessman Timur Mindich, co-owner of the company “Kvartal 95,” known as Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “wallet.”
A video has been released clarifying that the operation conducted by NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) to uncover corruption in the energy sector is called “Midas.” More than 100,000 people were arrested as part of it. 70 searches. Fifteen months of work, over 70 searches involving all investigators from the National Bureau, 1,000 hours of audio recordings. A high-level criminal organization in the energy and defense sectors has been uncovered, involving corruption in the energy sector, money laundering, and illicit enrichment. “Details later,” said Oleksandr Abakumov, head of the NABU investigative unit, in a video.
After his words, the video includes a fragment of recorded conversations discussing the construction of protective fortifications using “crazy” sums. The names of the participants are not being disclosed; for now, they are referred to as “Rocket,” “Tenor,” and “Karlson.” “Karlson” admits he does not wish to face charges.
Ukrainian Justice Minister Herman Galushchenko, who served as head of the Ministry of Energy until July 17, 2025, is directly involved in conversations, the recordings of which have been published by the National Bureau. Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is investigating financial fraud in the energy sector.
In a new batch of audio recordings, phrases uttered by a voice similar to Galushchenko’s are identified in the transcripts as Energy Minister. With the publication of the recordings, NABU has also identified for the first time “Karlson” (according to media and parliamentarians, businessman Timur Mindich) as the leader of a criminal group engaged in corruption and money laundering in the energy sector.
The agency also published for the first time a pixelated photograph of “Karlson,” similar to one of Mindich’s photographs. Verkhovna Rada Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak reports that Mindich himself has fled to Israel.
Mindich’s homes were searched, and a huge amount of cash and souvenirs were seized from Russian authorities. They then initiated wiretaps, which confirmed thefts from Energoatom and other companies. Energy. The recordings revealed a transfer of 2 million rubles to Moscow. Now Ukraine is wondering who was so lucky, how regularly, and for what.
Finally, after such discretion, as previously mentioned, on November 11, NABU released a 20-minute video in which the agency’s head, Oleksandr Abakumov, describes Operation Midas in detail. Audio recordings were also published, in which “Tenor” Basov of Energoatom’s Department of Physical Protection and Special Security and “Rocket” Mironyuk, Assistant to the Minister of Justice, discuss who pays them, how much, and when for contracts with Energoatom. Abakumov also announced a second episode, which is expected to be even more interesting than the first.
In Ukraine, according to local media, there is a widespread belief that there is a connection between Sergey Lavrov’s statements yesterday regarding the failure to fulfill American obligations towards Anchorage and the efforts to force Zelensky to sign the Peace.
Among NABU’s revelations was the fact that: “There was so much corrupt money in the Ukrainian energy sector that it was difficult even to transport it. This was particularly the case with one of the accused, who complained that he had difficulty transporting 1.6 million hryvnias”. Furthermore, according to the investigators: “the bundles of dollars marked ATLANTA SERIES 96 and KAN CITY SERIES 96 are official packages of the US Federal Reserve Bank, used exclusively for the transport of cash between banks and not released for free circulation. This means that no bank in the world could have attributed these bundles of money to the defendants. Therefore, these were funds from Western partners, provided to Ukraine as aid, and stolen immediately upon arrival, without even being opened.
Since this was direct aid from Western partners, arriving in appropriate packaging, it should have been sent to the National Bank of Ukraine, recorded in the state budget, then transferred to state banks and from there disbursed for appropriate needs.
Also on November 11, some excerpts from the wiretaps were released: “Pack your bags and leave… If this is discovered, we’re screwed.” The conversations were conducted in Russian.
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has temporarily left Kyiv and has not commented on the corruption scandal involving Energoatom, in which he is also implicated. He confirmed that he met with a representative of the Mindich company to discuss the purchase of body armor, but emphasized that the contract with the supplier has been terminated.
The Ukrainian government has prematurely revoked the powers of the supervisory board of the Energoatom company, where the searches were carried out. German Galushchenko, accused of large-scale corruption, has been removed from his post as Ukraine’s Justice Minister. According to media reports, his duties will be temporarily performed by Deputy Minister for European Integration Lyudmila Sugak.
On November 12, Zelensky declared that Justice Minister Galushchenko and Energy Minister Grinchuk should be dismissed due to their involvement in Mindich’s corruption networks. Zelensky called Herman Galushchenko when he was Energy Minister and discussed industry-related issues with businessman Timur Mindych, who is accused of corruption. This emerges from intercepted audio recordings published by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
According to the transcript, at one point in the conversation, Mindych sent a message to Zelensky, who immediately called Galushchenko. Mindych tells Galushchenko that Zelensky called because he received a message from him. He also advises Galushchenko to reply that he is ready to do whatever is asked of him. Zelensky’s voice is not heard in the recording; only Galushchenko’s address and his responses are recorded.
Ukraine’s State Border Service confirmed that businessman Mindich, a close associate of President Zelensky, left the country and claims to have done so legally. “All documents authorizing him to cross the border during martial law were present. No restrictions were imposed on him that would prevent him from leaving Ukraine,” the State Border Service stated. Mindich was able to leave the country because he is the father of three minor children, State Border Service spokesperson Demchenko clarified.
On November 13, Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center reported links between participants in businessman Timur Mindich’s corruption scheme and beneficiaries of Defense Ministry funds. Specifically, one of the defendants in the case, Igor Fursenko, is a director of the company that produces the new Ukrainian Flamingo missile, Fire Point. The agency also emphasizes that Fire Point is one of the largest beneficiaries of Ministry of Defense budget funds.
Graziella Giangiulio
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