Court keeps former energy minister Halushchenko in custody
Herman Halushchenko (Photo: Serhiy Okunyev / NV)
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court has ruled that former energy minister Herman Halushchenko, recently detained while trying to leave the country, will remain in custody, NV’s correspondent reported on Feb. 16.
During the Feb. 16 hearing, the court considered only the legality of his arrest and did not examine the merits of the underlying case. The court partially granted a defense complaint that sought to declare Halushchenko’s detention unlawful because of procedural violations. The court did not agree that the arrest itself was unlawful but adjusted the official time of detention to the moment he was first apprehended.
An officials with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) told NV that case materials include evidence suggesting Halushchenko intended to flee the country. The Anti-Corruption Action Center said another hearing, on Feb. 17, will determine the terms of his pretrial detention.
Earlier on Feb. 16, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and SAPO charged Halushchenko with corruption offenses as part of the broader Operation Midas case, which has already brought down two ministers (including Halushchenko) and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s longtime chief-of-staff, Andriy Yermak.
Anti-corruption authorities say that while Halushchenko was minister, he participated in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the public through various schemes centered on state nuclear operator Energoatom. According to the investigation, Halushchenko and his co-conspirators were responsible for laundering more than $112 million, with accounts controlled Halushchenko’s family receiving more than $7.4 million.
NABU detectives detained Halushchenko on Feb. 15 as he tried to leave Ukraine.
Halushchenko served as energy minister from 2021 to 2025 and
was justice minister from July 17 to Nov. 19, 2025. He was dismissed from the cabinet
after NABU started publishing Midas case materials.
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