The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has disclosed details of a large-scale scheme in which $12.9 million of corrupt funds were laundered for former Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, known in the materials under the codename “Sigismund.”
This is reported by Finway
Money Laundering Mechanisms and Use of Cryptocurrency
According to the investigation, the organizers of the ‘Midas’ case employed various financial instruments to legalize the illegally obtained funds. In particular, cryptocurrency transactions were involved in the scheme—likely using the stablecoin USDT. Part of the funds was directed towards investing in a specially created fund, registered in February 2021 on the island of Anguilla. This fund aimed to attract about $100 million in “investments” and was headed by a citizen of the Seychelles and Saint Kitts and Nevis, who, according to NABU, specialized in money laundering.
To conceal the involvement of the high-ranking official in the scheme, two companies were established in the Marshall Islands, which were integrated into the structure of a trust registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Their beneficiaries were Halushchenko’s ex-wife and four children. These companies acted as investors in the fund, purchasing its shares, and the funds obtained were transferred to accounts in three Swiss banks.
Flow of Funds, Expenses, and the Role of the ‘Barrier’
Most of the money was deposited into the fund’s accounts in Swiss banks, providing the Halushchenko family with additional income. According to NABU, during Halushchenko’s tenure as Minister of Energy (2021–2025), over $7.4 million was transferred to the accounts of two companies in the Marshall Islands, and about $4 million was withdrawn in cash in Switzerland.
Part of these funds, investigators claim, was spent on paying for the expensive education of the children in Swiss educational institutions, as well as on credit accounts of the former wife, medical services, and the purchase of branded clothing abroad.
“This concerns kickbacks that the contractors of the state Energoatom were supposed to pay in order to settle their contracts. This scheme was dubbed ‘the barrier,’ and the ex-minister was a key element in it,” NABU stated in its report.
According to the investigation, the criminal organization could have received over $112 million in cash from illegal activities in the energy sector. The ‘barrier’ mechanism stipulated that contractors received payment for completed work only after paying “kickbacks” of 10–15% of the amount of state contracts with Energoatom.
NABU established that the Minister of Energy personally facilitated the functioning of the corrupt scheme, in particular promoting the introduction of a moratorium on the repayment of the company’s debts. The obtained funds were handed over in cash at the office on Sofiivska Square or through an intermediary with the codename “Rocket.” All illegal receipts were recorded in the so-called black accounting under the name “Complex.”
On the night of February 15, 2026, Herman Halushchenko was detained by NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office while attempting to cross the state border.
