Suspects in Energoatom corruption scheme funded luxury houses for ex-deputy prime minister, journalists say

Suspects in a corruption case at state nuclear power company Energoatom have given money to ex-Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov for the construction of high-end houses near Kyiv, the Bihus.info investigative journalism project reported on Nov. 12.

Chernyshov was charged by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on Nov. 11 with illicit enrichment as part of the Energoatom corruption case, which involves Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelensky. Chernyshov did not respond to a request for comment.

In February businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman, known by the code name Sugarman, said that suspects in the Energoatom corruption scheme were planning to give $300,000 to Chernyshov, known as Che Guevara, according to audio tapes released by the NABU and cited by Bihus.info.

In March Tsukerman also proposed giving $500,000 for the construction of high-end houses in Kozyn, a suburb of Kyiv.

"I propose that Rocket should give something tomorrow," he said in the tapes in a reference to Ihor Myroniuk, also known as Rocket, a former advisor to then-Energy Minister Halushchenko. "I hope 800 ($800,000). Out of this, we'll give 500 ($500,000) to Che Guevara.... for construction."

Meanwhile, Mindich proposed temporarily freezing the Kozyn construction project in July for a year amid a previous corruption case against Chernyshov. The deputy prime minister was fired after the Anti-Corruption Bureau charged him with bribery and abuse of office in June.

"A stupid a**hole," Mindich said in the tapes in an apparent reference to Chernyshov. "If he exposes (other suspects) in the case, we're f**ed."

"According to one of the versions", the luxury houses were allegedly being built for Chernyshov, Mindich and "the leadership of the President's Office," Bihus.info reported.

According to the NABU, participants of the alleged corruption scheme allegedly gave $1.2 million and 100,000 euros to Chernyshov.

Bihus.info published an investigation about Chernyshov's alleged construction project in Kozyn in July, while the media outlet Ukrainska Pravda released another investigation about it in October.

In the NABU tapes, suspects Ihor Myroniuk and Dmytro Basov appear to divide kickbacks between themselves and "Professor" - an alleged reference to Halushchenko.