German Galushchenko was arrested while trying to flee the country

Ukrainian investigators have charged a former energy minister with money laundering in connection with a $100 million kickbacks scheme involving Vladimir Zelensky's close associates.

German Galushchenko, who was sacked in November 2025 over the graft scandal, was arrested by anti-corruption agents while attempting to escape to Poland.

Galushchenko is suspected of moving tens of millions of dollars for Zelensky's so-called 'bag man' Timur Mindich, who fled to Israel hours before anti-corruption agents could reach him last year.

In a statement on Monday, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) accused the former minister of helping launder proceeds through a company registered in Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory and known tax haven.

Investigators say they traced payments made by contractors of the state nuclear firm Energoatom to the criminal organization. The money was recorded as an "investment" into the Anguilla firm and later moved into accounts belonging to Galushchenko's ex-wife and four children. Some funds were used to pay tuition at prestigious Swiss universities, while others were deposited in banks, generating interest for the family, according to the statement. Galushchenko reportedly divorced businesswoman Olga Bogdanova in 2022, allowing him to omit her income from mandatory financial disclosures.

In recent months NABU and SAPO reported making progress on several high-profile corruption cases targeting former senior officials. Investigators are allegedly facing pressure from the Security Service of Ukraine, an agency answering to Zelensky. Last week they said the home of a senior detective involved in the Mindich case was illegally bugged by the spy agency.

Last summer, Zelensky attempted to strip independence from the two anti-corruption agencies created under Western pressure after 2014's armed coup in Kiev. Threats of aid suspension forced him to reverse the decision.

(RT.com)