Mindich and Shefir discussed how to collect money for Chernyshov's bail from «cash fund» — prosecutor's office

The prosecutor of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said that the conversations of the defendants in the corruption case at «Energoatom» include an episode of discussion by businessmen Tymur Mindich and Serhii Shefir about raising funds for bail for former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov from a joint «cash fund».

This became known during a court hearing on the choice of a preventive measure in the High Anti-Corruption Court, according to NikVesti.

Reading out one of the episodes, the prosecutor explained that Shefir, speaking to Mindich, said that he had a conversation with Oleksii Chernyshov, who was served with a notice of suspicion of abuse of office and receiving undue advantage by the NABU in June 2025.

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Chernyshov had to raise part of his bail, and Shefir, for his part, promised to «help with money from the cash fund». On 2 July, as you know, Chernyshov was bailed out for 120 million hryvnias.

Mindich: I told him that I would do it on my own behalf. I don't have any...

Shefir: No, well, we will take part from the cash fund (meaning from some kind of joint cash fund they have).

Mindich: He had everything seized...

Shefir: No, it doesn't matter. They seized what was declared, and I don't think Oleksii has much of that in terms of the scale of his life — a fleet of cars, staff, a house like this...»

Mindich: It's rented.

Shefir: Do you realise how much it costs? Ten thousand.

Mindich: I think it's more like 15.

Both Tymur Mindich and Serhii Shefir are long-time business partners of the current President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In one of the episodes read out by the SAPO prosecutor, it becomes known that Volodymyr Zelenskyi called Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko after receiving a message from Tymur Mindich, a businessman and co-owner of Kvartal 95 Studio.

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

On the morning of 10 November, it became known that NABU detectives were conducting a search at the home of businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 Studio Tymur Mindich. 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 became known 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.