HACCU sends defendant in the case «Midas» Basov under arrest with possibility of bail ₴40m

On 12 November, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on Dmytro Basov, Executive Director of Security at the state enterprise «Energoatom» (known on NABU tapes as «Tenor») in a corruption case. He was taken into custody for 60 days with the possibility of posting bail of 40 million hryvnias.

This became known from the online broadcasts of court hearings held by the High Anti-Corruption Court, according to NikVesti.

Thus, the court partially granted the motion of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), which insisted on arrest with the right to bail in excess of 45 million hryvnias. In addition, the HACC ruled that Dmytro Basov must surrender all his foreign passports, not leave Kyiv and Kyiv region without the investigator's permission, and refrain from communicating with Defence Minister Rustem Umierov and Tymur Mindich, a suspect in the same case.

During the hearing, prosecutor Ivan Diachuk said that Basov was one of the key members of a criminal organisation that systematically abused his position. According to him, the official not only received money, but also passed it on — in particular, to one of the company's managers, Ihor Myroniuk (pseudonym «Rocket»). He also allegedly provided means of secrecy to avoid exposing the scheme.

«It was Dmytro who, as part of this criminal organisation, received money in the form of undue advantage for his actions using his official position in the interests of contractors «Energoatom». Basov systematically transferred the money he had previously obtained through criminal means to Myroniuk,» said Ivan Diachuk.

At the same time, Dmytro Basov's lawyer, Vitalii Naum, said that there was no information that his client had actually received the money.

«No body — no case. No bribe — no case... 167 NABU detectives deliberately did not collect information, and then realised that they needed people and found 5 people who were served with suspicions at the last moment,» the lawyer said.

Earlier it was reported that during the search of Dmytro Basov's apartment, he tried to destroy important phones and documents. The defendant himself explained this by saying that he did not want his personal data stored in them to become known. In the apartment where Dmytro Basov met with other suspects in the case, NABU detectives also allegedly found collected data on the Bureau's employees and managers.

If found guilty, Dmytro Basov faces up to 13 years in prison with confiscation of property.

«Midas». Large-scale corruption in the energy sector

On the morning of 10 November, it became known that NABU detectives were conducting a search of the home of Tymur Mindich, a businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 Studio. At the same time, as UP pointed out, Tymur Mindich left the territory of Ukraine on the same day — a few hours before the start of the investigation. According to the source, he «fled the country at night».

Later, it was reported that the NABU and the SAPO were conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector. The bureau said the investigation lasted 15 months. More than 70 searches were conducted as part of the case, and investigators collected more than 1,000 hours of audio recordings. As part of the operation, they searched the offices of former Energy Minister and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and «Energoatom».

On the same day, the NABU and the SAPO published part of the audio recordings of conversations between the persons involved in the corruption scheme. The tapes released by the Bureau include officials with call signs «Tenor», «Rocket», «Carlson». According to «RBK-Ukraine», the tapes feature:

• Ihor Myroniuk — former advisor to the Minister of Energy (Rocket);
• Dmytro Basov — Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security of «Energoatom», former employee of the Prosecutor General's Office (Tenor);
• Tymur Mindich — businessman, head of the organisation (Carlson);
• Herman Halushchenko, former Minister of Energy, now Minister of Justice (Professor).

It also became known that the defendants were involved in the legalisation of illegally obtained funds in an office in the centre of Kyiv. It belongs to the family of MP Andrii Derkach, who is now a politician in Russia.

In the published fourth part of the investigation, the NABU found that participants in the energy sector corruption scheme transferred funds to the former Deputy Prime Minister, who was referred to in the documents and materials of the investigation as Che Guevara. Later it became known that it was former Minister of National Unity Oleksii Chernyshov. He was notified of being suspected of illicit enrichment.

Later, «Schemes» (Radio Liberty) named the names of all those who had been notified of suspicion by NABU as part of a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector. Among them was not the name of Herman Halushchenko. However, only on 12 November did it become known that Halushchenko had been removed from office following an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into corruption schemes at NNEGC «Energoatom».

Commenting on the situation, «Energoatom» stated that the large-scale corruption in the energy sector recently exposed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine did not affect the stability of its operations.