He therefore distanced himself from Mindich, a key suspect in a large-scale embezzlement and corruption case in Ukraine’s energy sector.
“In this matter, the most important thing is that those who are guilty receive sentences,” Zelenskyy said.
“The president of a country at war cannot have friends.”
Operation Midas
On Nov. 10, NABU detectives carried out searches targeting businessman Tymur Mindich, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko (formerly Minister of Energy), and the state-owned company Energoatom.
NABU said that, together with SAPO, it was conducting a “large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector.” Investigators documented the activities of a “high-level criminal organization” led by a “well-known businessman,” which allegedly built an extensive kickback scheme influencing Energoatom’s operations and demanding 10–15% cuts from contractors in exchange for unblocking payments.
NABU later published a series of audio recordings allegedly capturing conversations about money laundering, mentioning Minister Halushchenko and possibly Mindich, with participants using nicknames.
On Nov. 11, NABU announced the arrest of five suspects in the Midas case and identified several of them by their codenames:
a businessman — head of the criminal organization (“Karlson”)
a former adviser to the Minister of Energy (“Rocket”)
an executive director for physical protection and security at Energoatom (“Tenor”)
four individuals from a “back office” responsible for money laundering.
A former deputy prime minister of Ukraine — reportedly Oleksii Chernyshov — was served a notice of suspicion.