Operation Midas: Criminal scheme involved kickbacks of up to 15% from contracts
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has started revealing details of a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed "Midas."
"The main focus of the criminal organization’s activities was the systematic receipt of illegal benefits from Energoatom’s counterparties in the amount of 10% to 15% of the value of contracts. In particular, Energoatom’s counterparties were imposed conditions for paying kickbacks for avoiding blocking payments for services provided/products delivered or deprivation of supplier status. This practice was called ‘slagbaum’ (a Dutch word meaning cement barrier," the message on the Telegram channel said on Monday.
The head of the criminal organization involved the former deputy head of the State Property Fund, who later became an advisor to the Minister of Energy, as well as a former law enforcement officer who held the position of executive director for physical protection and security of the company, in the implementation of the scheme.
Using official connections in the ministry and the state-owned company, they ensured control over personnel decisions, procurement processes, and the movement of financial flows.
In fact, the management of a strategic enterprise with an annual income of over UAH 200 billion was carried out not by official officials, but by outsiders who did not have any formal powers, but took on the role of "watchers."
Anti-corruption authorities also published some of the audio recordings from the investigation.
As reported, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector.
"15 months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented. Its participants built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic state-sector enterprises, in particular Joint Stock Company National Nuclear Energy Generating Company (JSC NNEGC) Energoatom. Details later," NABU said.