Five people detained in 'Midas' case, seven notified of suspicion – NABU
Anti-corruption authorities reported suspicions to seven people in participation in a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector, and five were detained, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) reports.
"The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have uncovered the activities of a criminal organization that included current and former officials from the energy sector, a businessman known in the media, and other individuals. Its members established a large-scale corruption scheme to influence the operations of strategic state-owned enterprises, including JSC Energoatom, obtain illicit profits, and launder funds," according to a statement posted on Telegram on Tuesday.
At present, the following individuals have been notified of suspicion: the businessman -leader of the criminal organization; a former adviser to the Minister of Energy; the Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security at JSC Energoatom; and four individuals working in the back office responsible for legalizing funds.
The authorities are currently considering applying preventive measures through the court.
The main activity of the criminal organization involved systematically obtaining illicit benefits from Energoatom contractors, ranging from 10% to 15% of contract values.
Specifically, Energoatom’s contractors were forced to pay kickbacks to avoid the blocking of payments for provided services or delivered products, or to prevent losing their status as suppliers. This practice was referred to as the "slagbaum" scheme.
To implement the scheme, the leader of the criminal organization involved a former deputy head of the State Property Fund, who later became an adviser to the Minister of Energy, as well as a former law enforcement officer who held the position of Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security at the company.
Using their official connections within the ministry and the state-owned company, the individuals ensured control over personnel decisions, procurement processes, and financial flows. In effect, the management of a strategic enterprise with an annual revenue exceeding UAH 200 billion was carried out not by official executives, but by outsiders who held no formal authority yet assumed the role of "overseers."
The function of legalizing illicitly obtained funds was assigned to a separate office of the criminal organization located in central Kyiv. The premises belonged to family of former Ukrainian MP and current Russian Federation senator Andriy Derkach, who has been charged by NABU and SAPO in another criminal proceeding.
Through this office, strict accounting of the received funds was maintained, "black" bookkeeping was kept, and money laundering was organized via a network of non-resident companies. A significant portion of the operations - including cash withdrawals - was carried out outside Ukraine.
For providing services to individuals outside the criminal organization, the office received a commission in the form of a percentage of the laundered sums.
In total, around $100 million passed through this so-called "laundry" during the period of documented activity.
The special operation to document the organization’s activities lasted for more than 15 months, beginning in the summer of 2024. During this time, investigators gathered a vast amount of data and obtained thousands of hours of audio recordings. At the final stage, nearly the entire staff of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau’s detectives took part in the operation.
Under court warrants, more than 70 searches were conducted in Kyiv and other regions, resulting in the seizure of a large volume of documents and cash.
The operation was code-named "Midas."
NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors continue to identify other members of the criminal organization.
The investigation is ongoing.
