SAPO serves suspicion notice to former Energy Minister Haluschchenko

Ukraine’s Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) has formally notified former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko of suspicion in the "Midas" case, the SAP press service reported Sunday.

"Under the procedural supervision of an SAP prosecutor, National Anti-corruption Burea of Ukraine (NABU) detectives have served a new suspicion notice in the Midas case. The notice concerns the former Minister of Energy of Ukraine for the period 2021–2025. He is charged with money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation," the statement read.

According to investigators, in February 2021 a fund was registered on Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory, on the initiative of members of the criminal organisation subsequently exposed by NABU and SAPO in November 2025. The fund was designed to attract approximately $100 million in purported investment and was headed by a long-standing associate of the criminal organisation’s members — a citizen of the Seychelles and St. Kitts and Nevis who provided professional money laundering services on a commercial basis. The suspect’s family was listed among the fund’s "investors."

To conceal the suspect’s participation, two companies were incorporated in the Marshall Islands and integrated into a trust structure registered in St. Kitts and Nevis. The suspect’s former wife and four children were registered as the companies’ beneficiaries.

The Marshall Islands companies acquired shares in the Anguilla fund, effectively becoming its "investors," while members of the criminal organisation began transferring funds in the suspect’s interest to the fund’s accounts held at three Swiss banks.

Evidence obtained in Ukraine and through international legal cooperation with competent authorities in multiple countries indicates that during the suspect’s tenure as minister, his trusted intermediary — known by the alias facilitated the receipt of more than $112 million in cash by the criminal organisation, derived from unlawful activity in Ukraine’s energy sector.

"These funds were laundered through various financial instruments, including cryptocurrency and ‘investment’ in the fund," the prosecutor’s office stated.

Investigators have established that more than $7.4 million was transferred to fund accounts controlled by the suspect’s family. A further sum exceeding CHF 1.3 million and EUR 2.4 million was delivered in cash or transferred directly to family members in Switzerland. A portion of these funds was used to pay tuition fees at prestigious Swiss educational institutions attended by the suspect’s children and deposited into accounts held by the former wife. The remainder was placed on deposit, generating ongoing passive income for the family’s personal use.

On February 15, 2026, NABU detectives detained the former senior official at the state border as he attempted to leave Ukrainian territory. He has been served with a suspicion notice under Part 2 of Article 255 and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The investigation is continuing. NABU is conducting the inquiry in cooperation with competent authorities in fifteen countries.

As previously reported, NABU confirmed on February 15 the detention of former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko at the state border in connection with the Midas case.