MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Ukrainian parliament deputy Alexey Goncharenko (listed in Russia as terrorist and extremist) has called for the resignation of Vladimir Zelensky following the publication of a US report to the nation’s Congress detailing a corruption scheme in the Energoatom company organized by his close associates.
"The Congressional report states that Zelensky’s business partner is involved in corruption at Energoatom. Do you understand what this means? After something like this, it shouldn’t be elections that take place, but a resignation," the deputy wrote on his Telegram channel. Goncharenko noted that due to US interest in this case, Zelensky is deliberately delaying settlement negotiations and trying to bargain for better conditions for himself, waiting for the US Congressional elections in the fall.
The report identifies Zelensky’s business partner as his close friend and "wallet," businessman Timur Mindich, who, according to the investigation, was the mastermind of the criminal scheme in the energy sector. The document also mentions other figures involved in the case, including former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov, ex-Minister of Energy and Justice German Galushchenko, and former head of Zelensky's office Andrey Yermak.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DoJ) supervised the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Ukraine’s Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) in the investigation of the Energoatom company, a report prepared for US Congress jointly by the Pentagon, the US State Department, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) states.
The report notes that the US administration provided SAPO "with case-based strategic advice and guidance."
On November 10, 2025, NABU and SAPO announced an investigation into a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed Operation Midas. According to investigators, participants in the scheme laundered around $100 million. Zelensky’s close friend, businessman Timur Mindich, was identified as the coordinator of the schemes. He left the country several hours before raids began.
Publication of the case materials led to the resignation of several ministers, including German Galushchenko, who previously headed the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Justice, as well as the dismissal of the head of Zelensky’s office and his associate Andrey Yermak. The developments temporarily paralyzed the work of parliament. Reports also indicated that not all case materials had been made public, that new senior officials could be implicated, and that the investigation was not limited to the energy sector, with detectives also examining defense procurement.
On February 17, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court placed Galushchenko, charged with laundering funds from Energoatom, into custody, with the possibility of release on bail set at $4.6 million.