Zelensky Slaps Sanctions on Mindich and Zuckerman After $100 Million Corruption Scandal

President Volodymyr Zelensky has enacted a National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) decision introducing extensive personal sanctions against Kvartal-95 co-owner Timur Mindich and financier Oleksandr Tsukerman, following a corruption scandal, according to presidential decree No. 843/2025 published on Nov. 13.

The decree brings into force the NSDC resolution “On the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions),” imposing sanctions on both individuals, who are identified as citizens of Israel in the annex to the document.

Earlier this week Kyiv Post reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) alleges that a close ally of Zelensky, Timur Mindich, orchestrated a $100 million kickback scheme involving contracts at Energoatom, the state nuclear operator.

According to NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), top Energoatom officials allegedly demanded illicit commissions of 10-15 percent from contractors.

The restrictions are listed with terms marked “indefinitely; three years,” indicating that certain measures apply permanently, while others are set for a fixed period. The sanctions package includes a sweeping set of economic, legal, and operational prohibitions.

In addition, financier Oleksandr Tsukerman, whom investigators call a co-organizer of corruption schemes in the energy sector along with businessman Timur Mindich, denied the accusations of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

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According to the decree, Mindich and Tsukerman are subject to:

• revocation of state awards and other forms of official recognition;
• asset blocking – temporary deprivation of rights to use or dispose of assets owned directly or indirectly;
• complete termination of trade operations;
• full suspension of transit of resources, flights, and transport across Ukrainian territory;
• prevention of capital withdrawal from Ukraine;
• suspension of economic and financial obligations;
• termination of licenses and all other permits;
• ban on participation in privatization or leasing of state property by foreign residents or entities under their control;
• prohibition on using Ukraine’s radio frequency spectrum;
• termination of electronic communications services and access to communications networks;
• ban on participation in public and defense procurement;
• full prohibition on entry of non-military vessels and military ships into Ukrainian territorial waters or ports, and on aircraft entering Ukrainian airspace;
• ban on any transactions involving securities issued by the sanctioned individuals;
• prohibition on increasing the statutory capital of companies and enterprises they control;
• additional environmental, sanitary, phytosanitary, and veterinary control measures;
• termination of trade agreements, joint projects, and industrial programs – including in the security and defense sectors;
• ban on the transfer of technologies and intellectual property rights;
• prohibition on acquiring land plots in Ukraine.