In brief: Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said Wednesday it has completed pre-trial investigation into “Operation Midas,” a probe that implicated former ministers in a kickback scheme involving state nuclear energy company Energoatom. NABU said it identified at least $124 million in illicit transfers between 2020 and 2025 and is still working to trace and seize funds.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said on Wednesday it has completed pre-trial investigation into “Operation Midas,” which exposed a clandestine kickback scheme involving the country’s former top ministers.
In its press release, NABU said the scheme generated “illegal benefits” through a 10-15% kickback on contracts signed with Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear agency.
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According to NABU said the known transfers amounted to $111 million and €12 million ($13.5 million) between 2020 and 2025, and the money was then laundered through a “criminal organization.”
“Various financial instruments were used to launder money, including cryptocurrency, securities, and a foreign investment fund,” the agency wrote.
The agency added that work is ongoing to search for and seize the illicit funds.
What’s Operation Midas?
Unveiled in late 2025, the operation is one of the highest-profile corruption probes in Ukrainian history and brought down multiple ministers. It centered on the Energoatom kickback scheme.
Based on wiretapped recordings, the probe accused Tymur Mindich, co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio where President Volodymyr Zelensky once worked, of organizing the scheme with the involvement of several senior officials.
Mindich has since fled the country and denied wrongdoing. NABU said Zelensky was not part of the probe.
The initial probe named seven suspects, including former Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, who had previously served as energy minister, and his former deputy Svitlana Hrynchuk, who succeeded him as energy minister after a government reshuffle in summer 2025.
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Both resigned after the scandal broke and remain suspects in the case.
Investigators also accused officials of laundering the proceeds, along with other illicit income, through various projects, including a luxury real estate development near Kyiv.
In 2026, the probe implicated Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s former chief of staff, and, months later, his deputy Iryna Mudra, for allegedly aiding the scheme.
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