Anti-corruption prosecutors accuse Herman Halushchenko of helping divert more than $100m from state energy giant Energoatom, as sweeping investigation widens around businessman Timur Mindich.
Ukraine’s former energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, has been charged with money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation as part of the high-profile “Midas” corruption investigation, according to the country’s anti-corruption authorities.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said they had expanded the list of suspects in the case and formally brought charges against the ex-minister. Investigators subsequently detained Halushchenko, stating that procedural actions were being carried out “in accordance with the law and pursuant to a court warrant.”
According to the investigation, Halushchenko is suspected of assisting a group allegedly organised by businessman Mindich in diverting more than $112m from the state-owned nuclear energy company Energoatom. Prosecutors believe the funds were subsequently laundered through a network of offshore structures and financial instruments.
Investigators allege that Halushchenko personally received approximately $12m for his role. Part of the money was reportedly spent on his children’s education at prestigious institutions in Switzerland, while the remainder was placed in deposit accounts, generating additional income for the family.
Offshore structures and Swiss accounts
The case file states that in February 2021 a fund was registered in Anguilla to attract around $100m in “investments.” The fund was headed by a dual national of Seychelles and Saint Kitts and Nevis, who law enforcement officials describe as a professional provider of money-laundering services.
Among the fund’s purported investors, investigators say, were members of Halushchenko’s family. To conceal their involvement, two companies were allegedly established in the Marshall Islands and incorporated into a trust structure in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The declared beneficiaries were the former minister’s ex-wife and four children.
The companies acquired shares in the fund, after which members of the alleged criminal organisation began transferring funds to accounts held in three Swiss banks. According to investigators, more than $7.4m was paid into accounts controlled by the family. In addition, over 1.3m Swiss francs and €2.4m were reportedly handed over directly in Switzerland.
Prosecutors claim that more than $112m in cash derived from illicit activities in the energy sector was channelled through a trusted intermediary known by the alias “Rocket.” Part of the money was allegedly legalised via cryptocurrency transactions and investments into the Anguilla-registered fund.
The “Midas” investigation
On November 10, 2025, Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities announced a large-scale operation codenamed “Midas,” targeting an alleged corruption scheme within Energoatom. Investigators named Mindich, described as a former business associate of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as the scheme’s organiser.
Halushchenko, who served as vice-president of Energoatom in 2020–21 before later heading the energy ministry and subsequently becoming justice minister, was dismissed from office after the case came to light. His home was searched, though until now no formal charges had been brought against him.
Mindich was charged in absentia in November on five counts, having left Ukraine by the time the accusations were filed. Several other figures have been detained or charged as part of the investigation, including former deputy prime minister Oleksii Chernyshov, former energy ministry adviser Ihor Myroniuk – who media reports identify as “Rocket” – and Energoatom’s executive director for security, Dmytro Basov. An associate of Mindich, Oleksandr Zukerman, has also been charged in absentia.
Searches were later conducted at the residence of Andriy Yermak, former head of the Ukrainian president’s office. Although he was not formally named as a suspect, Yermak subsequently resigned.
The investigation has also mentioned former defence minister and current security council secretary Rustem Umerov, as well as Zelensky himself. The New York Post, citing unnamed sources, reported that while the Ukrainian president did not directly participate in the scheme, he allegedly approved the diversion of roughly $100m from the energy sector budget. The president has not been formally accused in the case.
