The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on November 12 made a decision to urgently suspend Vice President and board member of Energoatom Jacob Hartmut from his duties. This was announced by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Suspension of Energoatom Officials
In addition to Hartmut, the government instructed the acting chairman of the board of the company to suspend the chief consultant to the president of NAEC Energoatom, Dmytro Basov, who has already been notified of suspicion. Employees whose possible involvement in crimes is currently being investigated by law enforcement agencies have also been suspended. Among them are the director of finance and budgeting, the director of legal support, and the head of the separate unit “Centralized Procurement.”
“The Cabinet also instructed the acting chairman of the board to suspend the chief consultant to the president of NAEC Energoatom, Dmytro Basov, who has already been notified of suspicion, as well as employees whose involvement in crimes is currently being investigated by law enforcement agencies, including: 1) the director of finance and budgeting; 2) the director of legal support; 3) the head of the separate unit ‘Centralized Procurement,'” the head of government reported.
Investigative Actions and Personnel Changes in the Government
Earlier, Prime Minister Svyrydenko informed that she submitted a proposal to the Verkhovna Rada for the dismissal of Minister of Justice Herman Halushchenko and Minister of Energy Svitlana Hrynchuk. The names of these officials are mentioned in a case investigated by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. According to the head of government, the ministers submitted the relevant applications in accordance with the law.
On November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced the exposure of an organized criminal group engaged in systematic unlawful profit-taking from Energoatom’s counterparties, ranging from 10% to 15% of the contract value. According to NABU, the illegally obtained funds were laundered through a back office in central Kyiv, and the total amount that passed through the scheme is estimated at about 100 million dollars.
At the same time, draft resolutions regarding the dismissal of Herman Halushchenko from the position of Minister of Justice of Ukraine and Svitlana Hrynchuk from the position of Minister of Energy were registered in parliament.