MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has made public recordings of conversations in the case involving businessman Timur Mindich, co-owner of Kvartal 95, known as Vladimir Zelensky's "wallet."

A video posted on Telegram revealed that the operation of the NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) to uncover corruption in the energy sector had been codenamed Midas. More than 70 searches were conducted within its framework.

"NABU and SAPO are conducting Operation Midas. 15 months of work, more than 70 searches involving all detectives of the National Bureau, 1,000 hours of audio recordings. A high-level criminal organization in the field of energy and defense, corruption in the energy sector, money laundering, and illicit enrichment have been uncovered. Details will come later," Alexander Abakumov, head of the NABU detective unit, said in the video.

The video contains an audio fragment where the construction of defensive fortifications for "crazy" amounts of money is discussed. The names of the participants are not disclosed, but they are referred to as Rocket, Tenor and Carlson. Carlson says he does not want to be charged.

On Monday, NABU searched the apartments of Mindich and former Energy Minister, current Justice Minister German Galushchenko, as well as at Energoatom, which has close ties to Mindich. According to the Ukrainian media, Mindich left Ukraine a few hours before the search.

Zelensky tried to take control of NABU this summer, but later reneged on those plans amid public criticism. Mindich became semi-famous during the ordeal. He has been called "the most discreet yet influential businessman in politics." Some Ukrainian analysts believe that Mindich is responsible for funding the bulk of Zelensky’s corruption schemes, including defense orders.

Reports are that informal meetings were held in Mindich's apartment where Zelensky, head of his office Andrey Yermak and other high-ranking officials were present. In July, the Ukrainian media reported that NABU and SAPO had bugged the residence and recorded discussions of corruption schemes. The Strana newspaper said that coupled with the searches, the Mindich tapes could create a political firestorm in Ukraine.