Two Ukrainian ministers implicated in major corruption scandal step down
Editor's note: The article is being updated.
Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk submitted their resignation on Nov. 12 amid a large-scale corruption scandal, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
She added that she had submitted their resignation requests to the Ukrainian parliament.
Earlier on Nov. 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Hrynchuk and Halushchenko to resign. Halushchenko had been suspended from the job of justice minister earlier the same day.
Halushchenko is being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) as part of a large-scale corruption case into state nuclear power company Energoatom involving Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelensky. He has not been officially charged yet.
Meanwhile, Hrynchuk spent three nights in Halushchenko's apartment in July and August, an anti-corruption prosecutor said at a court hearing on Nov. 12.
When asked by the Slidstvo.info investigative journalism project, Hrynchuk said she "has not heard about it." She has denied the accusations of wrongdoing.
A prosecutor also said at a court hearing on Nov. 12 that Ihor Myroniuk, a suspect in the corruption case, had conducted a job interview for Hrynchuk when she was considered for the position of energy minister.
Svyrydenko also announced late on Nov. 12 that the government had suspended Energoatom's Vice President and Management Board member Jacob Hartmut based on materials provided by the NABU.
Ukrainian authorities have dismissed the supervisory board of the nuclear energy company following the launch of a corruption investigation into alleged misconduct. Svyrydenko added that a new audit of the company would also be conducted as part of broader efforts to reform its management and improve oversight.
"I believe that the justice minister and the energy minister cannot remain in their positions," Zelensky said on Telegram. "This is, among other things, a matter of trust. If there are accusations, they must be addressed."
Zelensky added that he had asked Svyrydenko to "ensure that these ministers submit resignation letters" and asked the Ukrainian parliament to support their resignations.
He also said that the National Security and Defense Council would sanction two people implicated in the Energoatom corruption case.
"Right now, things are extremely difficult for everyone in Ukraine — enduring power outages, Russian strikes, and losses," Zelensky added. "It is absolutely unacceptable that, on top of this, there are still some (corruption) schemes in the energy sector."
An extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers has suspended Halushchenko and appointed Lyudmila Suhak, deputy justice minister for European integration, as acting justice minister, Svyrydenko said on Telegram.
Halushchenko said on Facebook on Nov. 12 that he had spoken with Svyrydenko. "I fully agree: a political decision needs to be made first, and only then should we deal with all the details," he added.
“I am not clinging to the position of minister and will not cling to it. I believe that suspension during the investigation is a civilized and proper course of action. I will defend myself in the legal domain and prove my position.”
Meanwhile, Halushchenko's critics argued that suspension was not sufficient.
“The suspension of the justice minister by the Cabinet is not enough. Two ministers must either resign or be dismissed from their positions by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine," Anastasia Radina, head of the Ukrainian parliament's anti-corruption committee, wrote on Facebook in an apparent reference to Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk.
Halushchenko was energy minister from 2021 to 2025 and was appointed justice minister in July.
The NABU searched premises linked to Halushchenko as part of the Energoatom investigation on Nov. 10.
Halushchenko, who is sometimes identified as "energy minister" and sometimes by the code name "Professor," features in audio recordings published by the NABU.
In the NABU tapes, suspects Ihor Myroniuk and Dmytro Basov appear to divide kickbacks between themselves and "Professor" — an alleged reference to Halushchenko.
"We will (divide) it by three: you, me and Professor," Myroniuk said in the recordings.
Myroniuk, who has also been charged in the case, is a former advisor to Halushchenko.
Anti-corruption prosecutor Serhiy Savytskyi said at a court hearing on Nov. 11 that Mindich had allegedly committed his crimes by unlawfully influencing Halushchenko.
In the tapes, there is a conversation between Mindich and Halushchenko.
Mindich also discusses receiving money from another suspect, Oleksandr Tsukerman, in the recordings. The Anti-Corruption Bureau said that the conversation took place after Halushchenko visited the President's Office.
An anti-corruption prosecutor said at a court hearing on Nov. 12 that, according to the NABU tapes, Zelensky had called Halushchenko during a conversation between the minister, Mindich and Tsukerman. The president allegedly made the call after Mindich sent him a message.
The prosecutor argued that the episode proves Mindich's political influence. Zelensky's press service did not respond to a request for comment.
Halushchenko had been involved in several corruption scandals even before the ongoing Energoatom case.
In 2024, he was summoned to the Verkhovna Rada for a report on corruption in the energy sector.
The same year, the NABU charged Halushchenko's deputy Oleksandr Heilo with receiving a $500,000 bribe and his former deputy Maksym Nemchynov with corruption in the energy industry.
Halushchenko, 52, is from Lviv in western Ukraine. He has a law degree from Lviv State University and a management degree from the Ukrainian Foreign Commerce Academy.
He was the executive director for legal support at Energoatom from 2013 to 2014 and a vice president at the company from 2020 to 2021.
Halushchenko has also taught law at Kyiv National University's International Relations Institute.
