According to energy expert Viktor Kurtev, the recent actions by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) regarding "Energoatom" and the President's inner circle were not an independent decision by the Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies. He asserts that NABU received a direct "sic 'em command" from Washington, which it had resisted for a long time.
As reported by Hvylya, in a conversation with political scientist Yuriy Romanenko, Kurtev shared his information about the reasons for NABU's activation.
According to him, the bureau took no action in the summer, spring, or a year ago, even though it possessed all the necessary documents and facts regarding the offenses.
"According to my information, it was a command from the Washington regional committee. 'Attack,'" the expert stated about the reasons for the start of active operations.
Kurtev also added that NABU did not want to initiate the case, citing unreadiness: "NABU strongly resisted this... Some people were saying that we were allegedly not ready yet, we hadn't finished all our procedural actions, we hadn't conducted all the expert examinations... we won't be able to support this in court."
Political scientist Yuriy Romanenko, in turn, expressed the opinion that such actions, especially during the war, constitute high treason. He emphasized that while Ukrainians suffer from shelling and die on the front line, "squabbles" continue in high offices, resulting in the "siphoning off of billions of dollars" and the "destruction of the energy sector."
"People get genuinely angry about this. Because we don't have electricity... the suffering of the people is compounded by hatred for the inefficient use of resources, which leads to concrete consequences. This is high treason, by and large," Romanenko noted.
Kurtev believes that the entire operation was planned with an informational rather than a procedural goal, as the evidence base is "raw" and could fall apart in court. In his opinion, many of the case's defendants were given the opportunity to leave the country. Ultimately, the expert says, this is a blow to President Zelensky, synchronized with other processes.
It should be noted that on November 10, NABU announced the exposure of a criminal organization whose main focus was the "systematic receipt of improper benefits from 'Energoatom' counterparties, ranging from 10% to 15% of the contract value." NABU alleges that the funds were legalized through a back-office in central Kyiv, through which about $100 million passed.
NABU detectives conducted searches at the homes of Timur Mindych and former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, who was suspended from the position of Minister of Justice on November 12 for the duration of the investigation. Later, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko submitted a proposal to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) to dismiss him and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk from their posts.
It was also revealed who and how helped Mindych escape from Ukraine.