The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has revealed new details regarding a corruption scheme involving officials and their associates systematically receiving bribes from suppliers of "Energoatom". This information was disclosed by the NABU press service.
According to the investigation, members of the criminal group demanded "kickbacks" ranging from 10% to 15% of the value of contracts.
"In practice, a system was created where a strategic enterprise with revenues exceeding 200 billion hryvnias was not managed by top executives, but by an outsider who took on the role of shadow manager without any authority," the investigation report states.
Companies were essentially coerced into paying a percentage to avoid payment blocks for completed work or to retain their supplier status. Within the group, this practice was dubbed "barrier".
According to the investigation, the scheme involved a former deputy head of the State Property Fund who later became an advisor to the Minister of Energy (Ihor Myroniuk), as well as a former law enforcement officer who held the position of executive director for physical security and safety at "Energoatom" (Dmytro Basov).
Currently, the investigation includes:
- Former advisor to the Minister of Energy - Ihor Myroniuk.
- Executive Director for Physical Security and Safety of "NAEK "Energoatom" - Dmytro Basov.
- Businessman and leader of the criminal organization - Timur Mindič.
- Four employees from the back office responsible for money laundering.
By leveraging their connections in the ministry and state companies, they controlled personnel appointments, procurement, and financial flows.
It is worth noting that NABU detectives conducted searches at the home of businessman and co-owner of "Kvartal 95", an ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Timur Mindič, on the morning of November 10, according to sources from "Ukrainska Pravda".
Reports indicate that Timur Mindič left Ukraine on November 10, just hours before the NABU search.
NABU confirmed that they, along with SAP, are conducting a large-scale operation to uncover corruption in the energy sector.
"This case has been ongoing for 15 months, with 1000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented," the statement reads.
The investigators established an extensive corruption scheme that influenced strategic enterprises in the public sector, including "NAEK "Energoatom".
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have released parts of the audio recordings related to the large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector. The operation has been codenamed "Midas".
