A former Ukrainian energy and justice minister was arrested at the border and charged in a sprawling corruption probe tied to a $100 million kickback scheme, raising fresh questions about oversight as Western aid pours in.
Former energy and justice minister German Galushchenko was detained while attempting to leave the country and charged with money laundering and participation in a criminal organization. Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said he was “exposed for money laundering and participation in a criminal organization.” The arrest came the day after authorities moved to press charges.
Investigators link Galushchenko to what they call a $100 million kickback network dubbed Operation Midas, which allegedly routed illicit payments through state channels. State auditors say a criminal organization of officials and businessmen had deep access to Energoatom, the state nuclear company, and corrupted contract processes. Contractors reportedly had to pay up to 15% of contract value just to receive payment, effectively a wartime shakedown built into procurement.
Prosecutors say more than $7 million was moved into foreign accounts that listed Galushchenko’s wife and four children as beneficiaries. Some of that money was deposited and later used as income for the family, according to investigators. Reports also say the funds helped pay for elite schooling in Switzerland for the children, a striking detail given the minister’s role during a national crisis.
Galushchenko led the energy ministry from 2021 through 2025, a period that covered the full-scale invasion, and later served as justice minister before stepping down in November after his name surfaced in the probe. The person charged with stewarding the legal system became an object of criminal investigation himself, a development that undermines trust in institutions at a critical moment. Resignation did not mean immunity; the arrest at the border shows investigators pursued the case aggressively.
Operation Midas has snared other high-profile names as well, including a former deputy prime minister and prominent business figures tied to Ukraine’s cultural elite. One of those figures is Tymur Mindich, co-owner of Kvartal 95 and a former business partner of President Zelensky; authorities say Mindich was heavily involved and left Ukraine in November 2025. He was later filmed in Israel by a Ukrainian outlet, a sign that some suspects managed to get away even as others were stopped.
The proximity of some suspects to President Zelensky matters politically and practically. Mindich was not a peripheral actor but a close business associate, and Kvartal 95 is the company that helped launch Zelensky’s public life. That does not prove the president’s personal involvement, but it does tighten the circle of scrutiny around people who once operated in his orbit.
For Americans and Republicans who pushed for stricter oversight, this is a vindicating moment. The United States has supplied tens of billions in assistance to Ukraine, and critics warned that lax accountability would allow corruption to siphon funds away from defense. A $100 million kickback operation inside a state enterprise, coupled with contractors allegedly being extorted for 15% of their contracts, means higher costs and fewer resources reaching the front lines.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies did their job by pursuing the case and catching a former minister at the border, which matters and distinguishes this from outright impunity. Still, a key conspirator escaped to Israel and a large amount of illicit cash flowed through state channels, so the full scope of Operation Midas remains unresolved. The golden touch, it turns out, left fingerprints everywhere.
