Operation Midas explained: Yermak, Energoatom and Ukraine’s luxury real-estate allegations

Investigators and reports described a long-running inquiry. Euronews reported that the operation was 15 months in the making and involved about 1,000 hours of audio recordings ^[25]. Other reporting described roughly 70 searches or raids during the initial phase ^[27][37].

The alleged mechanism was a procurement and access-control network. Reports described outside intermediaries or so-called shadow managers who allegedly influenced Energoatom decisions and extracted payments from contractors ^[30][31]. Euromaidan Press reported that released NABU recordings allegedly captured discussions of 10–15% kickbacks on contracts connected to nuclear-operator protection ^[28].

What Yermak is accused of

The public allegations against Yermak are about money laundering through property, not simply about his political closeness to Zelensky. RTE reported in May 2026 that Ukrainian authorities had named Yermak as a suspect and alleged that he participated in a criminal group that laundered around $10.5 million through an elite residential complex outside Kyiv ^[3]. The Kyiv Independent reported that SAPO said a former presidential chief of staff had been charged with money laundering tied to construction of a luxury residential compound outside Kyiv, and that a law-enforcement source identified the person as Yermak ^[6].

There is an important caveat in the public record. Daily Sabah reported that Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies did not name the official in their announcement, while local media widely identified him as Yermak ^[2]. For that reason, the safest formulation is that Yermak has been reported as the suspect or charged figure in the property-laundering branch; the cited reports do not establish a court verdict ^[2][3][6].

How the luxury real-estate claim connects to Operation Midas

The alleged bridge is laundering. Operation Midas concerns suspected kickbacks, embezzlement and laundering tied to Energoatom ^[25][33]. The Yermak-linked branch, as reported, concerns suspected laundering through luxury residential construction near Kyiv ^[3][6].

Daily Sabah reported that NABU described an organized group that laundered 460 million hryvnias, while RTE described the amount as around $10.5 million ^[2][3]. Some reporting has framed the property allegations as part of the broader Operation Midas case, saying alleged proceeds from energy tenders were routed into luxury projects ^[5].

That does not mean the whole money trail has been publicly proven. Based on the cited English-language record, the core Energoatom investigation is well documented as an active NABU/SAPO case, while the specific Yermak property allegation remains an accusation awaiting judicial testing ^{[2][3][6][25][33]}.

Who else has been charged or implicated

Legal status varies by person, so the names should not be treated as interchangeable. NABU said in the initial Operation Midas phase that five people had been detained and seven had been served notices of suspicion, including a businessman alleged to lead the criminal organization, a former adviser to the energy minister, and an Energoatom executive responsible for physical protection and security ^[26].

• Tymur Mindich, also rendered Timur Mindich in some English reports, has been described as an alleged central figure. The Kyiv Independent reported that he is a close Zelensky associate and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 production company, and that he left Ukraine before being charged ^[40]. OCCRP reported that Ukraine moved to sanction Mindich as the probe widened ^[31].
• Herman Halushchenko, a former energy minister who was serving as justice minister when the scandal broke, was searched in the initial phase of the probe, suspended as justice minister, and later charged with money laundering and involvement in a criminal group, according to Euronews and Ukrainian media reports ^[20][21][23].
• Ihor Myroniuk and Dmytro Basov were identified in reporting on suspicion notices. Ukrainska Pravda, citing the investigative project Skhemy, identified Myroniuk as a former energy-ministry adviser and Basov as Energoatom’s executive director for security ^[34].
• Oleksandr Tsukerman and Ihor Fursenko were also named by Ukrainska Pravda’s report on people served notices of suspicion in Operation Midas ^[34].
• Oleksiy Chernyshov, then a deputy prime minister, was listed by the Kyiv Independent among senior figures involved in the ongoing scandal, though the cited source summary does not specify the same procedural status for him as for Mindich or Halushchenko ^[40].

Timeline of the main developments

• Nov. 10, 2025: NABU and SAPO announced Operation Midas, describing a large alleged corruption scheme in the energy sector centered on Energoatom ^[25][33].
• Nov. 11, 2025: NABU said five people had been detained and seven served notices of suspicion in the initial phase ^[26].
• Nov. 12, 2025: Halushchenko was suspended as justice minister after the Energoatom investigation surfaced ^[21].
• Nov. 28, 2025: Anti-corruption officials searched Yermak’s home and offices; he resigned the same day, and Zelensky accepted the resignation ^[10].
• Feb. 16, 2026: Euronews reported that Halushchenko had been charged with money laundering and involvement in a criminal group in the Energoatom investigation ^[20].
• May 11, 2026: RTE and the Kyiv Independent reported that Yermak had been named or identified as the figure in the luxury-property money-laundering case ^[3][6].

Political fallout for Zelensky’s government

Yermak’s resignation was the most immediate political blow. He had been widely described as Zelensky’s right-hand man and one of the most powerful figures in Ukraine’s wartime administration ^[8][10]. His home and offices were searched on Nov. 28, 2025, and Zelensky accepted his resignation hours later ^[10].

The timing intensified the damage. The Kyiv Independent reported that the raid came as Yermak was leading Ukraine’s side in critical peace talks with the United States, after Washington proposed a controversial plan that the outlet described as favorable to many Russian maximalist demands ^[14].

The case also affected the cabinet and Energoatom itself. Halushchenko was suspended as justice minister shortly after the Operation Midas revelations and later reported charged ^[20][21]. UNITED24 Media reported that the operation had already triggered cabinet suspensions and the dissolution of Energoatom’s supervisory board ^[35].

For Zelensky, the scandal cuts in two directions. It is politically damaging because it reaches people close to him and has been described by the Atlantic Council as the biggest corruption scandal of his presidency ^[38]. At the same time, the fact that NABU and SAPO carried out searches, suspicion notices and charges against senior figures shows that Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions continued to operate under wartime pressure ^[14][33].

What remains unresolved

The decisive question is not whether Operation Midas exists; multiple reports describe an active NABU/SAPO investigation into an alleged Energoatom scheme ^[25][26][33]. The unresolved question is what courts will ultimately conclude about each named person and each alleged money trail.

That distinction is especially important for Yermak. The cited reports support that he has been reported as the suspect or charged figure in a luxury-real-estate laundering case, with one major caveat: some agency announcements did not publicly name the official, and the public English-language record does not provide a final court-tested evidentiary chain ^[2][3][6].

Bottom line

Operation Midas alleges a major Energoatom kickback-and-laundering network worth at least $100 million ^[33]. The Yermak-linked branch is reported to involve 460 million hryvnias, described by RTE as around $10.5 million, allegedly laundered through luxury residential construction near Kyiv ^[2][3][6]. The scandal has already forced resignations, suspensions and charges around Zelensky’s circle, but the allegations against Yermak and others remain allegations unless courts establish guilt ^[10][20][26].

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