The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) shocked Ukrainians on Sunday morning, Nov. 10, with several announcements at once.
First, journalists discovered that NABU was conducting searches at the home of Tymur Mindich, co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio where Volodymyr Zelensky once worked.
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Later, it was reported that Mindich likely fled abroad just hours before the searches began.
At the same time, sources from several outlets reported that NABU was also searching the home of former Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, who now holds the position of Minister of Justice.
Almost immediately, NABU itself released a statement confirming that investigative actions were underway into the embezzlement of funds in the energy sector:
“NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office are conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector. Fifteen months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. The activity of a high-level criminal organization has been documented. Its members built an extensive corruption scheme influencing strategic state-owned enterprises, including Energoatom,” NABU reported on Facebook Sunday.
Kyiv Post looked into what NABU alleges happened.
NABU recordings
According to NABU, a group of people connected to the state-owned company Energoatom, which handles the construction, repair, and operation of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants (excluding the post-accident Chornobyl site), demanded kickbacks from contractors – that is, a portion of the tender’s value in exchange for keeping the contractors’ accounts unblocked.
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“In particular, Energoatom contractors were forced to pay kickbacks to avoid blocked payments for delivered goods/services or losing their supplier status. This practice was known as the ‘barrier,’” NABU stated.
As part of public disclosure, NABU released part of the operational material – 20 minutes out of 1,000 hours of recorded conversations between the suspects. According to NABU, the leader of the criminal organization involved a former deputy head of the State Property Fund (who later became an adviser to the Minister of Energy), as well as a former law enforcement officer who served as Energoatom’s Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security.
Both suspects were referred to in the wiretap files as “Tenor” and “Rocket.” The “leader of the criminal organization” himself has not yet been publicly named; in the recordings, he appears as “Carlson.” Another accomplice is referred to as “Professor.”
According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak from the opposition Holos party, “Carlson” is likely Tymur Mindich, a close associate of Zelensky, while “Professor” is former Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko. However, NABU has not provided any official comments regarding these claims.
“In fact, the management of a strategic enterprise with an annual revenue exceeding Hr.200 billion [$4.8 billion] was carried out not by official executives, but by outsiders who had no formal authority – yet took on the role of ‘supervisors,’” NABU stated.
The full NABU video with excerpts from the recordings can be viewed here.
Why this is dangerous – and whether it involves treason
According to law enforcement, the kickback schemes caused state losses of billions of dollars – particularly in the energy sector, where Ukraine needs maximum transparency and efficiency.
The recordings allegedly show suspects openly discussing the construction of protective shelters for substations at Ukrainian nuclear power plants, including the Khmelnytsky NPP, which was damaged by Russian strikes two weeks ago. They refer to the construction of these “f***ing protective” structures as simply “burying money.”
In one recording, “Tenor” and “Rocket” discuss waiting a month for kickbacks before starting the protective construction. The recording date – September 2025 – was just one month before Russia’s attacks on those same substations.
The public was shocked by photos of bags full of US dollars, and by evidence that the corrupt group involved – or forced to participate – personnel working at nuclear facilities.
It gives more fuel to Zelensky’s critics.
“That’s why you’re without electricity for 11 hours a day,” wrote well-known blogger Maryna Danylyuk-Yermolaieva, a vocal government critic.
But the greatest outrage followed the release of the second part of the investigation titled “Legalization.”
It focused on how the kickbacks were laundered – turned into legitimate capital. According to NABU, over $100 million (Hr.4 billion) was stolen and laundered – enough to fund major defensive projects and address part of Ukraine’s energy crisis.
However, some lawmakers believe the total amount could be much higher, since Energoatom conducted tenders worth Hr.110 billion ($2.6 billion) over the last five years. Based on the suspects’ own claims of 10-15% kickbacks, the theft could reach $250-300 million – in the energy sector, during wartime, while Ukrainians sit in darkness and businesses struggle to survive, buying generators at their own expense and raising prices for goods and services.
In the third NABU video, investigators revealed that the money laundering took place in an office owned by the family of former parliamentarian and traitor Andriy Derkach, whose collaboration with Russia has been confirmed, and who is under sanctions. One suspect – “Rocket” – was a former aide to Derkach.
Moreover, it is clearly said by one of them in the recording that the Security Service of Ukraine, Office of Prosecutor General and “other forces” were informed about this corruption scheme or even involved, and Mindich (Carlson) is allegedly the one who corroborates it.
In one recording, a suspect says part of the illicit proceeds allegedly went to current Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk – “I pay her salary myself,” said Derkach’s aide.
“Money stolen from protecting and rebuilding our energy sector during the fourth year of the war was laundered through the office of traitor – now a Russian senator – Derkach! And salaries for Ukraine’s energy and ecology ministers were paid by his associate!” said lawmaker Zheleznyak.
He added that Hrynchuk was not even given a code name in the recordings – she was referred to simply as “Sveta” or “Redhead,” due to her hair color.
Zheleznyak has already registered a parliamentary motion to dismiss Minister of Justice Halushchenko (formerly Minister of Energy, as mentioned in the recordings) and current Minister of Energy Svitlana Hrynchuk, who previously headed the Ministry of Ecology.
Hrynchuk issued a brief statement to journalists, denying the accusations and insisting that the investigation should be conducted “transparently.”
Political consequences
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Tymur Mindich – allegedly “Carlson,” the scheme’s organizer – is a close friend of Zelensky, with whom the president has celebrated private events. Some observers believe that the recordings made in Mindich’s apartment prompted the authorities to launch a campaign against independent anti-corruption bodies on July 22, triggering youth protests in central Kyiv.
Just hours before the Nov. 10 searches, several outlets reported that Mindich had fled Ukraine.
NABU’s publications caused genuine shock across Ukrainian society. Under the president’s recent posts, positive comments have become rare – most are now questions about the case and demands for action against those implicated.
Even today’s presidential visit to Kherson – a frontline city recently visited by Angelina Jolie – drew a flood of negative comments, with users asking where “Carlson-Mindich” has gone. Among them were prominent military servicemen, including Sergeant Illia Krotenko of the 54th Mechanized Brigade.
According to Kyiv Post’s government sources, the Mindich case could become a bigger political storm for the authorities than the youth protests in the summer of 2025.
“The main question is – what else is on NABU’s recordings, and when will they stop releasing them?” said one source.
So far, the government’s reaction has been cautious. President Zelensky released a short video statement, saying only that “effective actions against corruption are essential, and punishment must be inevitable.” However, he announced no specific decisions – yet.
Meanwhile, NABU has promised to release more videos related to the ongoing investigation.
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