Ukrainian state-controlled nuclear energy company Energoatom is in the news due to an approximately $100 million bribery and corruption scandal. The country’s independent agency, the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), announced that it has launched a comprehensive criminal investigation into the allegations of corruption within the company.
In a statement made on social media by NABU, it was noted that a businessman, a former advisor to the Minister of Energy, the company’s security director, and four employees formed a “highly organized criminal network”:
“In total, about $100 million has passed through this so-called money laundering network.”
NABU Chief Detective Oleksandr Abakumov stated that the suspects especially planned to increase bribe rates during the construction projects carried out last year at the Hmelnitski Nuclear Power Plant.
It was alleged that subcontractors of the company were forced to pay bribes ranging from 10% to 15% to avoid losing contracts or experiencing payment delays.
“UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS WERE RUNNING THE COMPANY”
NABU’s statement included the following words:
“A strategic institution with an annual revenue exceeding approximately $4.7 billion was managed not by official authorities but by individuals with no official role.”
ZELENSKİ: EVERYONE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BEFORE THE COURT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed full support for the corruption investigation during his evening national address:
“Everyone involved in such corruption should face a clear and transparent judicial process. If there is a crime, there must be convictions.”
This statement from Zelensky came shortly after the government retracted plans to limit NABU’s independence.
Combating corruption is seen as one of the most crucial conditions for Ukraine’s European Union accession process.
STATEMENT FROM THE MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND THE COMPANY
Energoatom confirmed that searches were conducted in its offices via social media and “they are fully cooperating with the investigation”.
Deputy Minister of Energy Svitlana Grynchuk told journalists, “I do not yet know all the details, but we guarantee that the process will be transparent”.
Grynchuk also said, “The transparency of the investigation will restore confidence among our international partners”.
Russia’s airstrikes since autumn have caused significant damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
While Moscow has not directly targeted nuclear reactors, reports indicate that infrastructure facilities connected to the reactors have been repeatedly struck.
<p/Opposition MP Yaroslav Jeleznyak announced that he will submit a proposal to the parliament to dismiss Deputy Minister Grynchuk and her predecessor German Galuşčenko due to the corruption scandal.
