Court imposes pre-trial restriction on former Zelenskyy associate Mindich in absentia

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has imposed a pre-trial restriction in absentia in the form of custody with respect to Tymur Mindich, the businessman at the centre of an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) into embezzlement at the state-owned nuclear energy company Energoatom.

Source: Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne

Quote: "The pre-trial restriction is being imposed in absentia because Tymur Mindich has left Ukraine. A state-appointed lawyer was unable to contact the suspect. For this reason, bail has not been set for Tymur Mindich, as this is not possible in an in-absentia court procedure.

The prosecutor in the case stated that Tymur Mindich pressured Rustem Umierov in an attempt to influence him regarding the procurement of substandard body armour."

Details: Suspilne noted that Umierov said he had spoken with Mindich about the body armour procurement when he was defence minister.

"In the end, the contract was terminated due to the products not meeting the requirements, and no goods were delivered," Umierov said.

The prosecutor added that Mindich had had conversations with Oleksandr Tsukerman, another businessman implicated in the Energoatom case, during which they used noise-cancelling devices.

The court hearing was closed for 15 minutes due to the examination of evidence that could have jeopardised national security.

Prosecutors explained that once a pre-trial restriction is selected, the case can be referred to Interpol for Mindich's detention, particularly at border crossings.

Quote: "The participants in the proceedings said that his whereabouts are unknown. Asked whether he could be in Israel, the prosecutor replied that this depends on the country's legislation and its cooperation with Interpol."

Details: Suspilne recalled that on 10 November, Ukrainska Pravda reported that NABU detectives had conducted searches at the home of Mindich, who had left Ukraine just hours before. Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, told Suspilne that Mindich was allowed to leave the country during martial law because he has three children under the age of 18.

Update: NABU has reported that a pre-trial restriction in the form of detention has been imposed on the "leaders of a criminal organisation operating in the energy sector". The decision was made by a judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court at the request of NABU detectives and approved by a prosecutor from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

After the suspects are detained and brought to the location of the pre-trial investigation, the judge will decide on the enforcement of this pre-trial restriction, NABU said.

Background:

• 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 "Karlsson" 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 continued to be an influential figure in the sector through his successor, Svitlana Hrynchuk, and the many managers that he personally installed prior to his dismissal in July 2025.
• 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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