Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have completed their investigation into one of the biggest graft cases of the war, saying a high-level criminal organisation siphoned more than $111 million and €12 million from the country’s energy sector over five years.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced on Wednesday that the pre-trial investigation in the case known as “Operation Midas” was complete and the case materials had been disclosed. The scheme centred on Energoatom, the state-owned operator of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, with officials demanding kickbacks of 10 to 15 per cent of the value of contracts from private suppliers, according to the agencies.
Investigators said the money was funnelled through contractors of Energoatom and other state energy enterprises between 2020 and 2025. They said they had seized assets belonging to the group in Ukraine and abroad, and that efforts to trace and recover the funds were continuing. A number of separate proceedings have been split off from the main case, including inquiries into money laundering and illicit payments in the energy sector.
The scandal first broke in November 2025, when NABU officers raided Energoatom offices and the homes of senior officials and businessmen, including the then justice minister, German Galushchenko, and Timur Mindich, a longtime friend and financial backer of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy whom Ukrainian media have described as his personal “wallet”. The case later ensnared a former deputy prime minister and a former energy minister, and forced the departure of Zelenskiy’s chief of staff. All of those implicated have denied wrongdoing, and none has been convicted. Ukrainian media reported that Mindich left the country for Israel around the time the raids began.
The completion of the investigation does not mean the case is over. The defence will now review the case files before the matter goes to court, and the agencies stressed that the assets seized so far are only part of what they are trying to recover. The case has hung over Zelenskiy’s government for a year and has become a test of whether Kyiv can police corruption in its own ranks while relying on Western military and financial support to fight the war with Russia.
Sources: National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (https://nabu.gov.ua/en/news/operatciia-midas-materialy-vidkryto/); Reuters (https://hi99.com/2026/11/04/ukraines-anti-graft-police-target-senior-officials-in-major-fraud-probe/)
