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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In total, more than half a billion in bail was posted for defendants in the “Midas” case.
Last year NABU and the SAP announced suspicions against a number of senior officials and their accomplices who appear in various episodes of the “Midas” case. The cases concern corruption in the energy sector and money laundering. This year the anti-corruption agencies reported uncovering new corruption schemes and published recordings of conversations made during the “Forrest Gump” and “Femida” operations. ZN.UA compiled the figures for the set bails and calculated how much money has already been posted for the defendants.
Operation “Midas”
Herman Halushchenko — “Sigismund/Professor”
According to the investigation, when Halushchenko served as minister of energy, he took part in coordinating the actions of a criminal organization that systematically demanded 10–15% kickbacks from contractors of NAEC Energoatom for contract awards. This scheme was dubbed the “barrier.” Besides detention, the SAP requested a bail of 200 million UAH for him, but the High Anti-Corruption Court set it at 150 million UAH. That amount was posted for Halushchenko in June 2026.
Andriy Yermak — “Surgeon”
According to the investigation, the former head of the Presidential Office participated in a criminal organization that laundered money obtained from corruption schemes, including kickbacks and abuses at Energoatom. Overall, the suspects, including Yermak, were able to legalize 460 million UAH through the construction cooperative “Dynasty.” The SAP sought bail of 180 million UAH for Yermak, but the HACC set it at 140 million UAH. The full amount was posted in May 2026 and Yermak was released from pretrial detention.
Oleksiy Chernyshov — “Che Guevara”
According to NABU, the former vice prime minister Chernyshov visited the so‑called “Mindich laundry,” where more than 1,2 million USD and nearly 100 thousand euros in cash were handed over to him and his wife. The primary recipient of the funds was mostly Svitlana Chernyshova. Chernyshov is also linked to the cooperative “Dynasty.” The SAP requested 55 million UAH bail for him, but the HACC decided that 51,6 million UAH would be sufficient. The money for the ex‑vice prime minister was posted in November 2025.
Ihor Fursenko — “Ryoshyk”
The investigation believes that Fursenko was a trusted associate of another figure in the “Mindich tapes,” Oleksandr Tsukerberg, and served as the back‑office accountant for money legalization. The SAP asked the court to set bail at 254 million UAH, but the HACC set it at 95 million UAH. The full amount was posted in November 2025.
Dmytro Basov — “Tenor”
According to NABU and the SAP, former executive director for security at Energoatom Basov systematically demanded and received bribes (10–15% of contract amounts) from Energoatom contractors in exchange for uninterrupted business with the company. He is also suspected of laundering money obtained via the “barrier” scheme at Energoatom. The SAP petitioned for bail of 45,2 million UAH, but the HACC set only 40 million UAH. Basov’s bail was posted in December last year.
Lesia Ustymenko and Liudmyla Zorina
Ustymenko, who was the chief cashier and kept the back‑office rough accounts, is suspected of embezzling and laundering stolen funds totaling more than 145 million UAH. Meanwhile back‑office administrator Zorina is suspected of participating in the scheme to embezzle at Energoatom. The SAP sought to set Ustymenko’s bail at 30 million UAH and Zorina’s at 15 million UAH. However, the HACC set bails of 25 and 12 million UAH respectively. The full amounts for both were posted in November last year.
Ihor Myroniuk — “Rocket”
Ihor Myroniuk, called the “watcher” at Energoatom, was also remanded in custody. According to the investigation, he was not only one of the scheme’s operatives but also facilitated involvement of businessmen Timur Mindich and Oleksandr Tsukerman. The SAP sought bail of over 136 million UAH, but the HACC initially set it at 126 million UAH and later reduced it to 85 million UAH. However, bail for Myroniuk has not yet been posted; he remains in custody.
Total amount of bails
For those defendants in the “Midas” case who ended up in pretrial detention, bails totaling just over 513 million UAH were posted. According to open data, with that money, for example, one could have bought:
about 25 thousand strike FPV drones. At an average market price of 7–10‑inch FPV drone at 20 thousand UAH, the stated amount would be enough to equip an entire corps for several months of active combat;
about 340–390 new all‑wheel‑drive pickups. Considering that the Ministry of Defense purchased specialized pickups through Prozorro costing 1,3–1,5 million UAH per unit, 513 million UAH is a full transport fleet for several brigades;
about 2 thousand dome‑type EW kits for vehicles and positions. At an average price for a quality 4–5‑band electronic warfare system of 200–250 thousand UAH, this would allow protecting thousands of crews and firing positions from enemy drones.
Operations “Forrest Gump” and “Femida”
Maksym Mykytas
According to the investigation, former MP Mykytas, together with sitting parliamentarian Vadym Stolar, organized a criminal group whose main goal was illegally seizing expensive real estate and other corporate assets. This group also laundered 150 million UAH of bail money for Halushchenko. This is Mykytas’s fifth suspicion. The court placed him under arrest with an alternative bail of 30 million UAH, although the SAP requested 200 million UAH. Bail for Mykytas, as for other defendants in the case, has not yet been posted.
Valentyn Yelizarov
The head of Metrobud LLC and Mykytas’s subordinate, according to the investigation coordinated the group’s operational activities, gave instructions to nominal directors, and also sought people to put companies under and was responsible for money laundering in June 2026. He was remanded in custody with the right to post bail of 20 million UAH. The SAP requested bail set at 35 million UAH.
Iryna Mudra
According to the investigation, the former deputy head of the Presidential Office influenced deputy minister of justice Olena Ferens regarding the activities of the Ministry of Justice’s anti‑raiding commission. Mudra repeatedly appears on NABU tapes recorded during the “Forrest Gump” and “Femida” operations. The court remanded her to pretrial detention with an alternative bail of 20 million UAH. The SAP asked to set bail at 150 million UAH.
Concentrating power in his own hands, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the same time reached the limits of his competence. He never dared to jettison the dead weight of “his own,” reboot the state management system with professionals, and send it a simple signal: “Don’t steal.” What is more dangerous during wartime — the criminal actions of corrupt officials or the criminal inaction of loyal dilettantes? Why Ukraine ended up in this dead end and how to get out of it is explored in the article “Degeneration of Power. How Zelenskyy reached his ceiling while the state management system hit rock bottom” by ZN.UA’s domestic politics editor Inna Vedernikova.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "У справі «Мідас» вже внесли застави, яких вистачило б на 25 тисяч ударних FPV-дронів. Фігуранти «Форрест Гамп» — на черзі". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.
