Ukraine puts 2 businessmen implicated in corruption scandal on wanted list

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Ukraine on Saturday placed businessmen Timur Mindich and Oleksandr Tsukerman, who are implicated in a $100 million corruption scandal in the energy sector, on the wanted list.

The Interior Ministry published their profiles on its website, putting Nov. 20 as the date of Mindich's disappearance.

According to the ministry, he is wanted on charges of laundering money obtained through criminal activity on a large scale, creation, leadership, and membership in a criminal organization, and interference in the activities of a public official.

Tsukerman's page reflects the same date of disappearance and identical charges except for the last one.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on Thursday imposing sanctions on Mindich and Tsukerman.

Ukraine launched a "large-scale operation" into the energy sector to uncover graft involving what the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) described as a "high-level criminal organization" seeking to influence strategic state enterprises, particularly Energoatom, which operates the country's four nuclear power plants.

NABU said its investigation involved 15 months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. Members of the “criminal organization” allegedly demanded illegal benefits to the tune of 10% - 15% of a state contract value.

State news agency Ukrinform said Mindich and Halushchenko’s homes were searched as part of the probe.

Meanwhile, an article by the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper said Mindich left for Poland hours before his home was searched. The State Border Service confirmed that Mindich legally crossed the Ukrainian border, but did not specify which country he was going to.

The investigation came four months after Zelenskyy reinstated the independence of the country’s two major anti-corruption agencies.

Zelenskyy had signed measures into law that brought NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under the oversight of the prosecutor general. He reversed the measures, however, after major protests, including in Kyiv.

A crackdown on corruption is critical if Ukraine hopes to advance its application to join the 27-member European Union, which formally opened accession negotiations with Kyiv in June 2024.

Critics say Kyiv has long suffered from corruption, an issue overshadowed by the war with Russia.