“During a full-scale war, when the enemy is destroying energy infrastructure every day and the country lives according to power outage schedules, any corruption is unacceptable. The government has already made the first decisions: a request for the resignation of two ministers, sanctions against people indicated in NABU materials, as well as a restart of Enerhoatom – removing the management and starting an audit of the company,” Svyrydenko wrote in the Telegram messenger.
She also added that the government is preparing comprehensive solutions for all state-owned companies, including energy companies. “We are conducting an audit and have obliged supervisory boards to check the functioning of companies, especially in the field of procurement,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
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What actions has the Prime Minister of Ukraine announced?
Who resigned in connection with the scandal?
How many people have been detained in connection with corruption?
What is NABU?
On Wednesday, in connection with the corruption scandal at the state operator of nuclear power plants, Enerhoatom, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk resigned. Their resignation was demanded by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Monday, the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) revealed an extensive corruption system in the energy sector. According to investigators' findings, the participants of the procedure collected bribes ranging from 10 to 15 percent from Enerhoatom's contractors. contract values. Illegal means were to be legalized by the so-called back office in the center of Kiev, through which – it was determined – approximately USD 100 million passed through.
The scale of the corruption scandal
Five people were detained and seven others were charged. The name of Tymur Mindicz, a businessman and associate of President Zelensky, appears in the investigation. He is considered the organizer of the entire procedure. The media reported that he went abroad a few hours before the searches of the participants of the scandal. NABU also reported that it was documented how members of a criminal organization transferred money to former Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov.
SAP prosecutors reported on Tuesday that Mindicz established contacts with the then Minister of Energy (until July 17 this year), and later Minister of Justice, Halushchenko. Through him, Mindicz was to exercise control over financial flows in the gas and energy sectors of Ukraine. Halushchenko allegedly used Mindicz's services to launder money through a proxy advisor to the Minister of Energy, Ihor Myroniuk.
