Security arrest ex-minister attempting to flee Ukraine

A former energy minister in Ukraine has been detained while attempting to leave the country, authorities have said.

German Galushchenko, who was forced out of his government role last year after being among officials named in a corruption scandal, was reportedly apprehended while on a train leaving Ukraine. It is unclear where he intended to travel to.

He was one of several government figures implicated in an alleged $100m (£75m) embezzlement scheme in November.

The scandal threatened to engulf Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration, which swept to power before Russia’s full-scale invasion on the promise to root out corruption.

Zelensky’s chief-of-staff Andriy Yermak – his closest adviser throughout the war – resigned after his home was searched. Neither the president nor Yermak have been accused of any wrongdoing.

The scandal has, however, increased pressure from the US to hold elections, which have been suspended since the start of the war in 2022 due to provisions in Ukraine’s constitution.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) said in a statement on Sunday that its detectives had detained the former energy minister “while crossing the state border”, as part of the Midas case.

It did not name Galushchenko explicitly, but he has been named by several prominent Ukrainian media organisations.

Galushchenko was briefly justice minister, a post he held when he was told by Zelensky to resign in November, having served as energy minister for three years prior to that. His successor, Svitlana Hrynchuk, also resigned after being implicated in the scandal.

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Nabu gave no further details on Galuschenko’s detention but said it would provide updates in due course.

Radio Free Europe reports that he was being transported to Kyiv for further questioning, after border guards were told to alert the authorities if he attempted to flee.

A massive anti-corruption probe, dubbed Operation Midas, was the culmination of 15 months of investigating, Nabu and Ukraine’s other anti-corruption body, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sap), said.

They accused several people of orchestrating a scheme to embezzle money in Ukraine’s energy sector, including at the national nuclear opertor Energoatom.

Galuschenko was among those alleged to have systematically collected kickbacks from Enerhoatom contractors worth between 10% and 15% of contract values.

The anti-corruption bodies also said the huge sums had been laundered in the scheme and published photographs of bags full of cash. The funds were then transferred outside Ukraine, including to Russia, Nabu said.

Galushchenko previously said he would defend himself against the accusations.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was arrested in November on suspicion of “illicit enrichment”, having already been charged with abuse of office.

Timur Mindich, a businessman and a co-owner of Zelensky’s former TV studio Kvartal95, reportedly fled the country after he was flagged as a suspect.

That the figures were accused of enriching themselves from Ukraine’s energy sector caused particular outrage domestically, as the scandal broke as Russia stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of a bitterly cold winter.

The former Soviet Union member has long been plagued by issues of corruption, which have continued despite Nabu and Sap operating for a decade.

Cracking down on corruption is seen as a key requirement for Ukraine joining the EU.

BBC