Ukrainian Ex-Energy Minister Detained While Attempting To Exit The Country
KYIV, Feb 16 (Reuters) – A former Ukrainian energy minister has been detained as a suspect in a high-profile kickback case for crimes including money laundering and participation in criminal activities, anti-corruption prosecutors said on Monday but did not name him.
Ukraine’s previous two energy ministers resigned amid fallout from the so-called “Midas” case, which focused on a $100 million kickback scheme at the state atomic agency that ensnared top officials and business elites, including a former associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
image alliance via Kay Nietfeld/Getty Images
The scandal also led to Zelenskyy being stripped of his post as chief of staff, and all three have denied any wrongdoing.
“We are talking about the former energy minister of Ukraine (2021-2025),” special anti-corruption prosecutors said on the Telegram messaging app. “He is accused of money laundering and participation in a criminal organization.”
Prosecutors said the former minister was detained while trying to leave Ukraine over the weekend.
“During the suspect’s term of office… the criminal organization obtained more than $112 million in cash from illegal activities in the energy sector,” Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau said in a statement.
The Bureau added that materials obtained in Ukraine and through international cooperation with the competent authorities of some countries formed the basis for the conclusion.
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk and Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)
