Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on November 13, implementing the decision of the National Security and Defense Council regarding the imposition of sanctions against two individuals involved in the energy sector corruption case — Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky in “Quarter 95,” and Alexander Tsukerman. The investigation considers the latter to be a co-organizer of corrupt schemes and an employee of the “back office” for money laundering.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Sanctions and Investigation Details
The relevant decree was published on the official website of the president. The appendix to the document states that sanctions have been applied to these two individuals, who are citizens of Israel. Among the 18 restrictive measures for each, there is asset blocking, deprivation of state awards, and a ban on capital withdrawal outside Ukraine.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is to inform the competent authorities of the European Union, the United States of America, and other states about the imposition of sanctions and raise the issue of implementing similar restrictive measures,” the decree states.
Timur Mindich and Alexander Tsukerman have not yet commented on the signed decree. The day before, the Cabinet of Ministers recommended that the National Security and Defense Council impose sanctions against these individuals, as stated by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The NSDC’s decision regarding sanctions was announced earlier by President Zelensky.
Investigation of Corruption Schemes and Suspicions
Mindich and Tsukerman are suspects in the case concerning corrupt schemes in the energy sector, which is being investigated by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. On November 10, NABU reported the exposure of a criminal organization that, according to the investigation, systematically received illegal benefits from “Energoatom” contractors amounting to 10–15% of the contract value. The money was laundered through a “back office” in central Kyiv, through which, as claimed by NABU, about 100 million dollars passed.
On the same day, NABU detectives conducted searches at Timur Mindich’s and former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko’s locations. According to law enforcement sources, Mindich left Ukraine shortly before the searches but has not yet commented on the situation.
Alexander Tsukerman, who is also considered a co-organizer of corrupt schemes and an employee of the “back office,” categorically denies the accusations from NABU and SAP. According to Tsukerman, he is ready to return to Ukraine when the opportunity arises. In response to journalists’ questions, he emphasized: “Everything is false, everything is a lie.”
According to sources in law enforcement, Tsukerman officially left Ukraine a few weeks ago using an Israeli citizen passport.
In the energy corruption case, eight individuals have been suspected, including businessman and co-founder of “Quarter 95” Timur Mindich (code name “Karlson”), former advisor to the Minister of Energy Igor Mironyuk (“Rocket”), Executive Director for Security at “Energoatom” Dmitry Basov (“Tenor”), and four other employees of the “back office”: Alexander Tsukerman (“Sugar Man”), Igor Fursenko (“Ryoshik”), Lesya Ustimenko, and Lyudmila Zorina.
Additionally, suspicion of illegal enrichment has been announced against former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, who has not yet commented on these accusations.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko also reported that she submitted a proposal to parliament for the dismissal of Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, who are involved in the case. She noted that both submitted resignation requests in accordance with legal requirements.