Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said it carried out searches at sites connected to Yermak as part of an investigation into alleged bribery and money laundering at state nuclear power company Energoatom. It did not specify Yermak’s status in the case.
Yermak said investigators from NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) were conducting “procedural actions” at his home and that he was fully cooperating, giving them full access while his lawyers interacted with officials.
NABU and SAPO have been probing Energoatom for weeks in a case they call the most extensive corruption investigation since early 2022. The 15-month probe, based on some 1,000 hours of audio recordings, has led to charges against eight suspects.
Investigators allege a group collected bribes from Energoatom contractors worth 10–15% of each contract, laundering around $100 million. NABU said a strategic enterprise with annual revenue of more than EUR 4 billion was effectively run by outsiders with no formal authority.
The scheme is alleged to have involved payments from contractors building fortifications to protect energy infrastructure from Russian attacks, even as Ukrainians faced power outages and blackouts.
NABU says the alleged ringleader is businessman Timur Mindich, a former business partner and close associate of Zelenskyy before he became president in 2019. Zelenskiy has imposed sanctions on Mindich in connection with the case.
The scandal has triggered a broader response. Ukraine has launched a sweeping anti-corruption audit of all state-owned companies, and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and former energy minister and recent justice minister Herman Halushchenko have resigned amid the probe.
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Source: PAP, Euronews