The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is conducting an investigation into the sources of funds used for bail by suspects in a criminal proceeding related to the ‘Midas’ operation. The first official request regarding the origin of such funds was sent on November 13, as reported by NABU Director Semen Kryvonos during a meeting of the temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada on December 10.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Verification of the Legality of the Bail Deposits
According to Kryvonos, from November 13 to 28, NABU sent a series of requests to the State Financial Monitoring Service to determine whether the funds used for bail were legal. He emphasized that under current legislation, it is not permissible to post bail with money obtained through criminal means.
The head of NABU clarified that some responses from the financial monitoring service have already been received – specifically regarding LLC ‘Vangar’, individuals who posted bail, and LLC ‘Varus Synergy’. At the same time, as Kryvonos noted, the origin of funds from individuals and the mechanism of how money reached the accounts of the companies that made the bail deposits have not yet been fully investigated. This is particularly relevant to one of the companies established in May 2025, which posted a significant amount of bail for one of the suspects.
The ‘Midas’ Operation and the Suspects
The investigation into the ‘Midas’ operation was initiated following NABU’s statement on November 10 about the exposure of a criminal organization that, according to the investigation, systematically received unlawful benefits from the contractors of the ‘Energoatom’ company – ranging from 10% to 15% of the contract value.
Within the framework of this case, suspicions have been announced against eight individuals. Among the suspects are businessman and co-founder of the ‘Kvartal-95’ studio Timur Mindich (code name ‘Carlson’), former advisor to the Minister of Energy Igor Mironyuk (‘Rocket’), as well as one of the employees of the so-called ‘back office for money laundering’ Alexander Tsukerman (‘Sugar Man’).
“We have received a number of responses from the State Financial Monitoring Service. This includes partial responses regarding LLC ‘Vangar’, which deposited funds, concerning individuals who posted bail, and regarding LLC ‘Varus Synergy’. But I can say now that the origin of funds from individuals who posted bail has not been fully investigated, for example, and tracking how the funds reached the accounts of the companies that posted bail is still pending. Since, for instance, one LLC was established… in May 2025, and posted quite a significant bail for one of the suspects,” he said.
Alexander Tsukerman, who appears in the case under the pseudonym ‘Sugar Man’, denied the accusations from NABU and SAP, calling them “lies,” and promised to return to Ukraine. Timur Mindich, who, according to law enforcement, left Ukraine on the night of November 10, did not comment on the case. Both have been declared wanted.
NABU continues to investigate whether the funds for bail could be linked to criminal activity and the legalization of illegal income.