Parliament fires justice, energy ministers implicated in Ukraine's biggest corruption scandal
Editor's note: The article is being updated.
The Ukrainian parliament on Nov. 19 approved the resignations of Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, who are allegedly implicated in a large-scale corruption scheme at state nuclear power company Energoatom.
Halushchenko and Hrynchuk submitted their resignations on Nov. 12 after President Volodymyr Zelensky urged them to do so.
Halushchenko is being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) as part of the Energoatom case, the biggest corruption investigation during Zelensky's presidency. Eight suspects have been charged, and Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelensky, is allegedly the ringleader.
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.
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.
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.
