MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Ukrainian businessman Timur Mindich managed corrupt schemes in the energy and defense sectors but was not their main beneficiary, Ruslan Magamedrasulov, head of the interregional department of detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), stated.
Magamedrasulov was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which is in conflict with NABU, back in July 2025 and has been in a pre-trial detention center since then. He was involved in documenting the activities of Mindich and his main financier, Alexander Zuckerman. They appear in the case under the nicknames Carlson and Sugarman.
"According to my information, Carlson [Mindich] performed the function of a top manager and was not the main beneficiary," Magamedrasulov told Obshestvennoe. News in a written interview. He stated Mindich began implementing illegal schemes in the energy ministry and defense ministry after working with Igor Kolomoisky’s team (listed as an extremist and terrorist in Russia), but emphasized "there are other beneficiaries, without whose political will these processes could not have been implemented."
Kolomoisky, also detained, called Mindich a "fall guy" rather than a "mafia boss" in the corruption case.
Mindich case
On November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), both independent from Zelensky’s office, announced an investigation into a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed Operation Midas. Searches were conducted at the Energoatom energy company and the residences of entrepreneur Timur Mindich and the now suspended Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who served as the country’s energy minister at the time of the events that are being looked into. The investigation found that participants in the scheme had laundered around $100 million. NABU also started to release recordings of conversations from Mindich’s apartment, which revealed discussions of corrupt practices.
On November 11, along with Mindich, charges in the case were brought against former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of National Unity Alexey Chernyshov, who is also seen as a member of Zelensky’s inner circle. On the same day, Ukraine’s government dissolved Energoatom’s board, and on November 12, Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk tendered their resignation. However, Mindich, who some have called Zelensky’s "wallet," left the country a few hours before searches started, and is now in Israel.