Prosecutors describe influence-peddling network in Ukraine's biggest graft case
Suspects in a large-scale energy corruption case have allegedly manipulated senior officials as part of an extensive influence-peddling network, prosecutors said at court hearings on Nov. 11-12.
The hearings were held after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) charged eight suspects with bribery, abuse of office, and illicit enrichment in a large-scale corruption case into state nuclear power company Energoatom on Nov. 11. The alleged ringleader is Timur Mindich, a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky and a co-owner of the president's Kvartal 95 production company.
The High Anti-Corruption Court arrested Dmytro Basov, Ihor Myroniuk, Ihor Fursenko, and Lesia Ustimenko on Nov. 12, setting bail ranging from Hr 25 million to Hr 126 million. The court has not yet considered an arrest warrant for Lyudmila Zorina, who has also been detained by the NABU.
Two other suspects — Mindich and businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman — have fled.
Tsukerman denied the accusations in a comment for the Schemes investigative journalism project and added that he would return to Ukraine when he had time.
It is not clear if and when the court will consider arresting former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, who has also been charged in the case.
Media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that Chernyshov had visited the building of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) on Nov. 12, prompting speculation on whether it was linked to the corruption case or an alleged effort to flee the country.
The agency previously helped return Chernyshov from abroad when he was charged with corruption for the first time in June, according to Ukrainska Pravda's sources.
Recently, Mindich met Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence, as he allegedly tried to help the President's Office handle the scandals around Zelensky's former partner, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Nov. 6, citing its sources. HUR did not respond to a request for comment.
Another person who features in tapes released by the NABU as part of the case — Serhiy Pushkar, a member of the state energy regulation commission — also left Ukraine on Nov. 11. He has not yet been charged.
The prosecutors said in court that the suspects have wielded significant political influence.
Specifically, suspects in the Energoatom corruption case have discussed who should be appointed to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko's Cabinet and whether Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko should be appointed as ambassador to the U.S. Halushchenko, who also features in the tapes, submitted his resignation on Nov. 12.
The prosecutors also said 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 prosecutors argued that the episode proves Mindich's political influence. Zelensky's press service did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the prosecutors, Myronyuk had conducted a job interview for Svitlana Hrynchuk when she was considered for the job of energy minister. Hrynchuk, who got the job in July, resigned on Nov. 12 amid the corruption scandal.
Tetiana Nikolayenko, a journalist at the news site censor.net, on Nov. 12 posted a fragment of the notice of suspicion for Mindich. According to the notice of suspicion, he has pressured Rustem Umerov, then defense minister and now secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, to conclude a contract with an Israeli company for the supplies of bullet-proof vests to the Ukrainian military.
The contract was eventually concluded. However, the company has failed to supply the vests on time, and the Ukrainian army received low-quality Chinese vests instead, Nikolayenko wrote on Facebook.
Additionally, the suspects have pushed for a controversial deal to buy Russian-built nuclear reactors from Bulgaria for Energoatom, the prosecutors said. Ukraine and Bulgaria negotiated the potential purchase from 2023 to 2025 but no agreement has been reached.
The prosecutors also said at the hearings that suspects in the Energoatom scheme have also discussed bribing the State Investigation Bureau.
"We'll negotiate it this way... and let the State Investigation Bureau take 5% because they are going around and looking for this money," one of the suspects allegedly said.
The State Investigation Bureau did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the NABU tapes, Basov also allegedly gave a $20,000 bribe to the National Corruption Prevention Agency (NAPC) in May.
The agency said it had launched an internal probe into the allegations.
