Ukraine's anti-corruption agency announces major energy sector crackdown

Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) announced that, in cooperation with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), it is carrying out a major crackdown aimed at uncovering bribery in Ukraine's energy sector. According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, former energy minister and current justice minister Herman Halushchenko is also under investigation.

"Fifteen months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented," NABU said, adding that members of the group had built an extensive corruption scheme to influence strategic state-owned enterprises.

NABU said the investigation focuses in particular on Energoatom, which operates Ukraine's nuclear power plants.

In a Telegram post, the anti-corruption agency shared photographs of bags containing large quantities of banknotes in various currencies. It promised to release more details later.

Zheleznyak said on Telegram that NABU was also conducting searches at Halushchenko's premises and at Energoatom, and that he and fellow MPs in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada had filed the complaint that prompted the investigation. He also wrote that he had proposed Halushchenko's dismissal.

Two independent sources confirmed the investigation into Halushchenko to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. NABU itself did not comment on the findings.

Last week, NABU announced the arrest of the deputy director of Atomenergomash, a subsidiary of Energoatom, in connection with bribery.