Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have charged eight people linked to the state nuclear company Energoatom, in what investigators describe as one of the country’s largest corruption cases in years.

The probe has drawn in senior ministers and a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky, shaking Kyiv’s political establishment.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said on Nov. 11 they charged eight individuals with bribery, abuse of office, and illicit enrichment.

Recordings released by the bureau captured the group—using aliases such as “Karlsson,” “Rocket,” and “Tenor”—discussing kickbacks and coded payments.

According to NABU, the scheme was led by Timur Mindich, a film producer and co-owner of Zelensky’s Kvartal 95 entertainment company, who left Ukraine shortly before being charged.

Mindich allegedly coordinated the operation through intermediaries in the Energy Ministry and the State Property Fund.

Implicated Ministers

Among those implicated are former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko—who served as energy minister earlier this year—and Rustem Umerov, the former defense minister and current secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

Prosecutor Serhiy Savytskyi told a Kyiv court that Mindich had unlawfully influenced Halushchenko and Umerov.

Energoatom, which generates Ukraine’s nuclear power, has an annual revenue of around Hr 200 billion ($4.7 billion), according to NABU. Investigators allege that officials collected 10–15% in kickbacks from contractors in exchange for maintaining supplier status.

In recordings, former adviser Ihor Myroniuk was heard saying, “We’ll just revoke the certification and cancel the technical specifications... total chaos,” describing pressure tactics on suppliers.

The alleged network laundered proceeds through an office in central Kyiv reportedly linked to relatives of pro-Russian fugitive lawmaker Andrii Derkach.

That office, managed by businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman, allegedly processed about $100 million in illicit funds. Tsukerman, known as “Sugarman,” is also under investigation in the United States. NABU said Mindich oversaw operations from the upper floors of a building on Hrushevsky Street, where both he and Zelensky own apartments.

Of the eight suspects, five have been detained, while Mindich and Tsukerman have fled the country. Prosecutors said the group discussed payments of $1.2 million and €100,000 to Chernyshov and recorded Mindich seeking to transfer $3 million to Switzerland and $1 million to Israel, allegedly to conceal proceeds abroad.

The Energoatom case has become a litmus test for Ukraine’s anti-graft institutions as the country continues to rely on Western funding amid the ongoing war.