The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said it is conducting a “large-scale operation” jointly with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office to expose corruption involving “a high-level criminal organization” in the energy sector.
NABU said in a post on social media on November 10 that the investigation has been ongoing for 15 months with some 1,000 hours of audio recordings gathered.
“The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented,” the bureau said.
“Its members have built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC ‘Energoatom,'” NABU said.
The bureau does not provide details of ongoing investigations, but said it would provide them at a later date.
Parliamentary deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak confirmed that searches are being conducted at Energoatom and at the residence of former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, who is currently justice minister.
The home of businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio Timur Mindich was also reportedly searched.
While Ukraine has been lauded for making strides to rein in corruption, Western governments, anti-corruption watchdogs, and analysts say more work is needed to root out graft.
The OECD said in a report earlier this year that “corruption risks remain high in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
The investigation, announced on November 10, underlines why ordinary Ukrainians and Western governments earlier this year pushed Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to reverse a law that took away the independence of the country’s leading anti-corruption bodies.
The move, which was later reversed, sparked Ukraine’s biggest protests since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
In July, an RFE/RL investigation revealed that the family of a senior Ukrainian customs chief has a portfolio of luxury real estate and cars.
Anatoliy Komar was head of the Customs Service department that levies duties on imports and exports of oil, gas, and other energy in February 2022, just before Moscow’s all-out invasion.
At the time, Komar’s monthly salary of about $2,000, while the family’s main income came from his wife, Maria, who works as a tour guide and offers online courses. Her declared income was much higher, at around $8,000 per month.
But a detailed look at the family outgoings suggests a much higher income would be required to support their lifestyle.
Asked to explain how the lavish lifestyle was financed, Komar told RFE/RL that he would not comment on personal matters. When pressed, he said it was paid for by a “godfather” who was a “fairly wealthy person,” but did not elaborate.
