Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko suspended amid Energoatom corruption investigation

Herman Halushchenko has been suspended as justice minister following a high-profile investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) into corruption at Energoatom, Ukraine's state nuclear energy company.

Source: Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko on Telegram

Quote: "An extraordinary government meeting was held this morning. A decision has been made to suspend Herman Halushchenko from his duties as justice minister."

Details: Liudmyla Suhak, Deputy Minister of Justice for European Integration, will take over Halushchenko's duties.

Halushchenko commented on his suspension, stating that he will not try to hang onto his position.

"I believe that suspension during the investigation is a civilised and correct course of action. I will defend myself legally and present my position," he said.

Background:

• The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has released the third part of Operation Midas, its investigation into a large-scale corruption scheme at Energoatom.
• Suspects in the NABU investigation, who were reportedly shielded by government officials, laundered tens of millions of dollars from Energoatom.
• According to NABU, the money-laundering scheme was somewhat crude: businesses that wanted to sell goods or services to Energoatom had to pay a 10-15% kickback or face non-payment and removal from the supplier list – a mechanism dubbed the "tollgate", since you either share your margin or you are left standing at closed doors.
• The ringleader is alleged to be Tymur Mindich (referred to as "Karlson" in the NABU files), a businessman and co-owner of Kvartal 95, the Ukrainian TV production company that Volodymyr Zelenskyy founded before he became president. Mindich left Ukraine just hours before the NABU search began.
• The offices of former energy minister Herman Halushchenko ("Professor" or "Hera" on the tapes) were also searched on 10 November. Economichna Pravda sources say that Halushchenko is still an influential figure in the sector through the current energy minister, Svitlana Hrynchuk, and the many managers that he personally installed prior to his dismissal in July 2025.
• Zelenskyy's close friend Tymur Mindich is alleged to have exerted influence over former energy minister Herman Halushchenko and former defence minister Rustem Umierov. The allegation was made by the prosecution during the hearing of a petition brought by a NABU detective seeking the detention of Ihor Myroniuk, another suspect in the investigation.
• The prosecution stated that Mindich built connections with Halushchenko through his links to Zelenskyy and acted as a patron for Halushchenko in relation to Zelenskyy.

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