Ukrainian court extends detention of ex-minister Halushchenko and reduces bail to around €2.9 million

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court has extended by two months the pre-trial detention of former energy minister and ex-justice minister Herman Halushchenko.

This was reported by the Ukrainian Center for Countering Corruption.

At the same time, the judge decided to reduce the alternative bail amount — from 200 million to 150 million hryvnias (around €2.9 million).

Halushchenko was detained on February 15: according to Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the former minister was removed from a train at night while attempting to leave the country. The Center for Countering Corruption previously reported that he faces between 7 and 12 years in prison.

The criminal prosecution of Halushchenko is linked to the large-scale Operation Midas, which NABU and Ukraine’s Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced on November 10 of last year. The investigation established that participants in the scheme laundered at least around €86.6 million. The investigation named Tymur Mindich, a friend of Volodymyr Zelensky, as the coordinator of the scheme; he managed to leave Ukraine several hours before the searches began.

The publication of the case materials led to the resignation of several ministers, including Halushchenko, as well as the dismissal of presidential office chief and Zelensky’s friend Andriy Yermak. In addition, the publication of the materials temporarily paralyzed the work of parliament.

It was also reported that not all investigation materials had been made public, and that new names of senior officials could appear in the case. There were also reports that the investigation covers not only the energy sector but also the area of defense procurement.