Ukraine’s former energy minister Herman Halushchenko has been served with a notice of suspicion on allegations of money laundering and participation in a criminal organization, a statement published on the Telegram channel of Ukraine’s Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced. Halushchenko was detained the day before while trying to leave the country.
Investigators say members of the criminal organization in question registered a foundation on the island of Anguilla in February 2021. The foundation was intended to “attract about $100 million in ‘investments,’” SAPO said.
Halushchenko was not identified by name in the SAPO post, which refers to the detained individual as “the former Minister of Energy of Ukraine (2021-2025)” — a timeframe that fits Halushchenko tenure at the agency. Although the former minister was not personally named as an “investor” in the fund, the SAPO post explains that:
“In order to conceal his involvement, two companies were created in the Marshall Islands, integrated into the structure of a trust registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The high-ranking official’s ex-wife and four children were registered as beneficiaries of the companies. These companies became ‘investors’ of the fund (by purchasing its shares), and members of the criminal organization began transferring money to the fund’s accounts opened in three Swiss banks in the interests of the suspect.”
Approximately $7.4 million was transferred to accounts controlled by the former minister’s family. The family also received about 1.3 million Swiss francs and 2.4 million euros in cash or via transfers to accounts in Switzerland. Part of the money was used to pay for education at “prestigious institutions in Switzerland” using accounts held by the former Energy Minister’s ex-wife. Another part was put into a deposit, from which the Halushchenko family received additional income.
This past November, NABU and SAPO revealed extensive recordings and other evidence corroborating their accusation that a large-scale embezzlement scheme in the energy sector had been orchestrated by Timur Mindich, a businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio that Zelensky headlined before his run for president in 2019. According to investigators, Mindich’s trusted associates received improper benefits from counterparties in deals with JSC National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom, Ukraine’s largest electricity producer and the operator of all active nuclear power plants in the country.
The perpetrators allegedly skimmed 10-15% of the contract value, which they then funneled through a conversion center reportedly set up by Mindich’s associate, financier Oleksandr Tsukerman. According to the investigation, the center processed a total of about $100 million.
Aside from Mindich, the list of suspects features multiple public officials and businesspeople, including Serhii Pushkar of the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities, former Energoatom Executive Director for Security Dmytro Basov, and former Deputy Head of the State Property Fund Ihor Myroniuk.
Herman Halushchenko headed the Energy Ministry from April 2021 to July 2025. He later moved into the post of justice minister but was dismissed on Nov. 19 after his name appeared in the case materials involving embezzlement in the energy sector.