“We’re f*ed”: NABU released the ‘Mindich tapes’ and served him with a notice of suspicion

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), within the “Midas” case, has released audio recordings featuring “Karlson”—the organizer of corruption schemes around Energoatom. According to media reports, Karlson is none other than businessman Tymur Mindich, who is close to Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mindich also appears to have been served a notice of suspicion in the Energoatom corruption case.

NABU says the notice of suspicion was issued to a “businessman—the head of a criminal organization,” identified on the recordings as Karlson.

In addition to him, six other people received suspicion notices:

• a former advisor to the energy minister;

• the executive director for physical protection and security at JSC NNEGC “Energoatom”;

• four people—back-office employees involved in laundering funds.

Furthermore, five people have been detained in the case.

The assertion that Karlson is Mindich is indirectly supported by NABU’s wiretap statement that “from an apartment on the upper floors of a building on Hrushevskoho Street in Kyiv, Karlson determined to whom and how much cash to give or transfer, and coordinated influence over officials of central government bodies to resolve issues in his own interests—in particular in the energy and defense sectors” (i.e., the investigation concerns corruption not only in energy, but also in defense). Recall that Mindich owns an apartment on Hrushevskoho Street. Back in July, media and MPs reported that NABU had wiretapped his residence for about three months and that Zelensky might have been recorded there.

NABU also published a photo of Karlson, and a second photo for comparison—of Mindich.

In conversations captured by detectives, Karlson directs financial flows, discusses securing draft deferments for trusted associates through sham employment, and gives instructions on security and awareness of possible NABU attention.

In the new recordings, among other things, Karlson speaks with the energy minister. According to the press, this refers to Herman Halushchenko, who is identified in the case by the nickname “Professor.”

On the tapes, Karlson also discusses with “Shugarmen” (presumably one of the Zuckerman brothers) the need to split “a sizable pile of cash” among “the prosecutor’s office, the SBU, all the security agencies, and the Economic Security Bureau (BEB).” Someone—whose name is not disclosed—laid out this scheme for him.

After receiving the money, “600 in total,” Karlson “keeps it for himself.”

As a reminder, yesterday NABU published the first “Mindich tapes.”