MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General has sent a request to Israeli authorities for the extradition of businessman Timur Mindich and his associate Alexander Tsukerman, so that they can be prosecuted for their role in a large-scale government corruption scheme, RBC-Ukraine reported.

"In working order, the Prosecutor General’s Office, together with Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), processed and completed 24 volumes of materials, and the text of the request was prepared and translated. After some final tweaks, the extradition request was sent to the Justice Ministry of Israel," the news outlet quoted Maryana Gayovskaya-Kovbasyuk, head of the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office, as saying.

Earlier, head of the NABU detectives unit, Alexander Abakumov, said in an interview with the YouTube channel "Yest Voprosy" that his agency had sent documents for the extradition of Mindich and Tsukerman to the prosecutor general two weeks ago. However, he said the request had not yet been signed or sent to Israel.

Mindich case

On November 10, 2025, the NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced an investigation into a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed Operation Midas. Vladimir Zelensky’s close friend, businessman Timur Mindich was identified as the coordinator of the schemes. Searches were conducted at his residence, at the Energoatom energy company and at the residence of Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who was later suspended. Galushchenko had served as the country’s energy minister at the time of the alleged offenses. Investigators said that participants in the scheme had laundered about $100 million. NABU also began releasing recordings of conversations from Mindich’s apartment that revealed discussions of corrupt practices.

On November 11, charges were also brought against former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of National Unity Alexey Chernyshov, along with Mindich. Mindich, who some have called Zelensky’s "wallet," left the country hours before the searches began and is now in Israel. On November 17, reports said that Andrey Yermak might appear in the case files under the pseudonym Ali Baba. Searches were conducted at his office and apartment on November 28, and Zelensky dismissed him later the same day.