German Galushchenko, Ukraine’s former energy minister, pictured here in Britain in April 2025, was detained Sunday while attempting to leave Ukraine. Photo by Chris J. Ratcliffe/EPA
A Ukrainian anti-corruption law enforcement initiative on Monday announced it has detained former Energy Minister German Galushchenko as he was attempting to leave the country, authorities said.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau said in a statement that does not mention Galushchenko by name that the suspect, identified as the former minister of energy who was in office from 2021 to 2025, was detained Sunday.
The arrest comes as part of Ukraine’s Operation Midas investigation into an alleged large-scale bribery scheme within the European country’s energy sector.
Investigators with NABU announced that they uncovered the scheme in November, alleging a criminal organization comprised of current and former government officials, as well as businessmen, sought to influence strategic state-owned enterprises, particularly Energoatom, to obtain unlawful benefits and launder money.
The scheme participants allegedly received kickbacks from contractors with Energoatom to avoid having payments for their services or products blocked or losing their supplier status, according to the investigators. The kickbacks were valued at between 10% and 15% of the contract’s value, they said.
Five people were initially arrested and allegations were made against a total of seven people. Amid the fallout, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded Galushchenko resign, which he did.
The investigators on Monday alleged that the criminal organization received more than $112 million in cash from illegal activity in the energy sector during Galushchenko’s tenure as energy minister. The transactions were allegedly conducted through a third person Galushchenko trusted, referred to as “Rocket.”
About $7.4 million of the money was transferred to accounts allegedly controlled by Galushchenko’s family, with a further $1.7 million worth of Swiss francs and $2.8 million in euros were paid out in cash and transferred directly to the family in Switzerland.
NABU said part of the funds were allegedly spent on his children’s education at prestigious institutions in Switzerland and were placed in the account of his former wife, while the rest was placed in a deposit from which Galushchenko’s family received additional income and spent it on their needs.
Corruption has long plagued Ukraine, and Zelensky has sought to eradicate it as part of his push for the country to gain European Union status.
