An individual formerly associated with the Ukrainian President has been accused of masterminding a $100 million embezzlement scheme.
Tymur Mindich, a former business partner of President Zelenskyy, was identified by Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities as the orchestrator of the scheme, which involved Ukraine’s state nuclear power company. Before the scandal emerged, there were concerns about Mindich’s increasing influence over profitable Ukrainian industries, gained through his connections to Zelenskyy.
Mindich reportedly used his influence over loyalists, who subsequently pressured contractors working for Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power company, to pay kickbacks, allegedly as high as 15%, in exchange for overcoming bureaucratic obstacles.
Despite his past association with Mindich, Zelenskyy was not implicated in the investigation. The Ukrainian president also imposed sanctions on his former business partner once the anti-corruption findings were disclosed.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) announced on Nov. 11 that a group of individuals, including Mindich, “established a major corruption scheme to control key state-owned enterprises,” among them the nation’s state nuclear agency. A Ukrainian news outlet reported that sources confirmed law enforcement conducted searches at properties linked to Mindich on Nov. 10, but he was reportedly forewarned and subsequently fled.
Mindich remains at large, with Politico reporting that he departed for Israel as the scheme became public and law enforcement began to close in.
“Any effective actions against corruption are very much needed. The inevitability of punishment is necessary,” Zelenskyy stated in an evening address, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The NABU’s 15-month investigation reportedly entailed 1,000 hours of wiretapping and led to 70 raids, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the agency.
“What we previously heard only as rumors now has some evidence,” activist Tetiana Shevchuk of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center informed The Associated Press. “For a long time, we have heard that Tymur Mindich acts as a shadow controller of the energy sector.”
Beyond Mindich, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, who served as Energy Minister from 2021 to 2025, was also subjected to a raid, according to sources cited by the Kyiv Independent.
Mindich was a co-owner of Zelenskyy’s production company, Kvartal 95, a connection Shevchuk believes propelled him into politics. The activist told the AP that Mindich “would have never been involved in politics, held a position of power, or engaged in business without his connection to Zelenskyy, and the severity of this situation is heightened because it is occurring during wartime and involves energy infrastructure at a time when Ukrainians are experiencing electricity shortages in their homes.”
This marks not the sole NABU investigation focused on Mindich. The anti-corruption agency is reportedly conducting a separate probe into the former Zelenskyy associate’s dealings with Fire Point. However, NABU has not yet disclosed its findings from that inquiry.
Digital sought comment from Zelenskyy’s office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.