Professor Sigismund: How Halushchenko siphoned over 425 million via offshore companies
The High Anti-Corruption Court has arrested former energy minister Herman Halushchenko, allowing him to be released on bail set at UAH 200 million. On Sunday, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) effectively removed the former minister from a train and subsequently served him with a notice of suspicion of money laundering. According to NABU, in February 2021, on the island of Anguilla (a self-governing British Overseas Territory), a fund was registered at the initiative of members of the criminal organisation in the "Midas" case, which was supposed to attract about $100 million in "investments". One of the investors in this fund turned out to be the family of Minister Halushchenko (his ex-wife and children). Investigators say that during Halushchenko’s time in office, through his trusted associate known as "Rocket" (former adviser to the energy minister Ihor Myroniuk – ed.), the criminal organisation received more than $112 million in cash from unlawful activities in the energy sector.
How the criminal group operated and what Halushchenko said in his defense in court is reported by Censor.NET.
As the prosecutor in Halushchenko’s case stated, the investigation identifies three levels of the criminal organisation within the well-known Midas case.
"Shugarman" was the first level, where Timur Mindich and Tsukerman operated directly.
At the second level, Tsukerman’s subordinates worked in his secret office, where funds were distributed and laundered.
The third level involved Halushchenko’s adviser Myroniuk and Energoatom security director Basov, who received money from companies in the energy sector.
The funds were laundered through a fund headed by a long-time associate of the members of the criminal organisation, Ivor Omson, a citizen of the Seychelles and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The main vehicle was called the Hamilton Fund, from which money was also transferred to Congem Ventures and Oros Ventures.
In particular, in the interests of Oros’s client, during the period from 29 March 2024 to 1 April 2025 alone, a total of $7,432,027 was moved, amounting to more than UAH 294 million. Part of these funds, on Halushchenko’s instructions, was placed in deposit accounts of the Hamilton Fund, including in the name of the fund, in the interests of Swiss Bank, UBS Switzerland AG and UVP Bank AG.
In addition, in the interests of Oros, the fund placed, in particular, a $2 million deposit on 11 April 2024 and another $600,000 on 5 August 2025. The funds placed in April 2024 in a deposit account were returned a year later, in April 2025, together with $75,000 in interest income.
Also, in the interests of Congem, the fund placed a $2 million deposit in March 2024 and a $700,000 deposit in October 2024. The funds placed in March 2024 in a deposit account were returned in March of the following year in the amount of $2 million, with $88,767 retained as deposit interest income. Subsequently, an additional $2.5 million was placed on deposit.
The funds placed on 12 April 2024 were returned on 12 April 2025 in the amount of $700,000, together with deposit income in the form of interest exceeding $30,000, and on 17 April, a further $700,000 was debited and re-placed on deposit.
Part of the above-mentioned funds was also used to pay for the education of Halushchenko’s children at private schools in Switzerland.
As reported, in early December 2025, journalists from the investigative project Skhemy revealed that Halushchenko’s 18-year-old son, Maksym, has been studying for the fourth consecutive year at one of Europe’s most expensive private colleges — College Alpin Beau Soleil in Switzerland.
It is an international private boarding school located in the town of Villars-sur-Ollon.
According to the journalists’ findings, tuition, together with accommodation costs up to $200,000 per year. Halushchenko’s son, Maksym, has been studying there for four years.
The funds were received by Halushchenko’s wife, Olha Bohdanova.
The total amount of siphoned funds during the tracked periods exceeded 425 million. This is precisely why detectives requested such a bail amount in court during the hearing to determine a preventive measure.
The case prosecutor also detailed how it was established that former Energy Minister Halushchenko appears in Mindich’s scheme as "Professor" and "Sigismund".
In one instance, participants of the Mindich scheme discussed the distribution of funds, stating: "I will give this to Sigismund. Tomorrow he goes on a business trip and will stop by his wife's place."
This conversation took place on June 5, 2025. Simultaneously, according to state border crossing records, Halushchenko did indeed travel abroad on June 7, 2025.
In another conversation between the suspects, Myroniuk and Basov (organizers of an extortion racket targeting energy sector companies), they refer to Halushchenko as "Professor," while also using his name, Herman Valeriiovych.
Among other instances, Myroniuk and Basov mention Halushchenko as "Professor" while discussing supervisory boards. During the conversation, they note that a full list of candidates is unavailable, and Myroniuk intends to "speak with the Professor" about it once more.
Investigators also recorded a meeting on 30 June 2025 between Tsukerman and Mindich, during which Mindich asked Tsukerman about Sigismund, and they also referred in conversation to "Che Guevara" ( the alias used for former minister for national unity Oleksii Chernyshov).
In addition, investigators recorded conversations dated 11 February 2025 between an employee of the "laundromat", Ustymenko, and Tsukerman, in which they first discussed the "Manhattan" inflows" table, in particular, whether to enter funds there, where "suppliers" referred to as the Tennisyst and Sigismund are mentioned.
On 18 February 2025, Ustymenko and Tsukerman split 10 million.
Tsukerman: Dollars, yes, dollars everywhere.
Fursenko: And from whom?
Tsukerman: This is to be given to Sigismund.
On 19 March 2025, Tsukerman again speaks with Ustymenko.
Ustymenko: Shura, did you bring something? Tell me.
Tsukerman: 560.
Ustymenko: And..
Tsukerman: Sigismund.
Ustymenko: Is that for him personally, or how?
Tsukerman: 560 personally.
Beyond the discussion of how the money was split up, the prosecutor also read out correspondence between Halushchenko and Herman Smetanin about returning Energoatom to the list of critical infrastructure enterprises.
Justifying the need to remand Halushchenko in custody, the prosecutor argued that the company’s management was under Halushchenko’s control, all appointments at the company were agreed with him, and that a significant number of current employees could have been involved in the operational schemes. As a result, various testimonies about Halushchenko’s potential ability to exert both direct and indirect influence on current and former employees of the company are at risk, as people may refuse to testify.
The prosecutor also mentioned that, even after becoming the Minister of Justice, Halushchenko continued to influence the decisions of the former Minister of Energy, Svitlana Hrynchuk.
Furthermore, in one of the dialogues, other figures in the case refer to Halushchenko as a person associated with Andrii Derkach (a former Member of Parliament currently under suspicion by the SBU for high treason).
In another dialogue, they discuss Halushchenko’s desire to flee the country and become an ambassador somewhere in Europe. This conversation is dated as far back as March 2025.
However, the most egregious evidence presented in court regarding influence over witnesses and the course of the investigation was the correspondence between Halushchenko and Deputy Minister of Justice Pikalov.
On July 21, 2025, Pikalov sent a message to Halushchenko:
"A request was received from the SBU to work within the pre-trial detention center conditions with the detained head of a NABU unit. They are asking for a free cell with unpleasant cellmates."
A day later, he sent the minister a photo of the cell, and Halushchenko approved it with a "plus" sign emoji.
The discussion concerned a cell intended for NABU detective Ruslan Mahamedrasulov
Later, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak and the head of the Anti-Corruption Committee, Anastasiia Radina, published photos of this cell.
During the court hearing, Halushchenko’s lawyers argued that the investigation had in no way established that Sigismund was in fact Halushchenko, and that those involved in the case had not been asked during questioning whether they knew such a person. "Why have neither Basov nor Myroniuk been questioned so far, and why has no one asked them who ‘the Professor’ is?" one of Halushchenko’s lawyers asked.
"As for the table that is being talked about so much… Your Honour, it is obvious that this cannot even be called an accounting document. It is a table kept by persons unknown; we do not know who entered what into it," the lawyer said.
Another lawyer noted that, as counsel, he "has to believe his client; as a person, he can allow that his client may have been involved in something, but there is no evidence of his crime in these 11 volumes."
Halushchenko himself also denied his guilt. He reminded the court of the scope of his powers and pointed out that they did not include the actions imputed to him. Responding to the correspondence with Smetanin that had been read out, Halushchenko noted that Energoatom was not the only entity on that list. He added that in the days when it was not on the list, the enforcement service recovered more than 100 million that had been earmarked as payment for fuel supplied by Westinghouse (which sells fuel for nuclear reactors). "This ‘barrier’ may sound like something terrible, but let us talk about the real situation," the former minister said.
Regarding his 56 trips abroad, Halushchenko stated: "Well, one had to travel somehow. Well, that’s just how it happened. I had many events where I had to go abroad, and I simply don’t understand how anyone imagines it otherwise. Therefore, while the shelling had not ended, but when the situation in the energy system in '22–'23 allowed me to step away, I traveled, I held meetings, I established the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which today holds over 1.5 billion euros used to purchase equipment."
"What else is important… You know, I recalled 'Professor Sigismund' being mentioned, but for some reason, the prosecution fails to mention that the name Herman also appears in those transcripts. Or Valeriiovych is there. So, wait, if my actual name is used there... we understand that it’s either a conspiracy or it's not," the suspect addressed the judge.
He also admitted to asking Kotin (the then-head of Energoatom) to halt negotiations with Skoda in order to sign contracts for Bulgarian reactors, stating he saw nothing wrong with it. He argued that otherwise, the Bulgarian contract would have collapsed (as is known, opposition MPs heavily criticized the minister for this procurement at the time).
"Now, I don't know who is happy that we scuttled this contract; we could have had the third power unit operational by next year," the minister claimed. However, it is unlikely that a section of the Khmelnytskyi NPP could have been completed within a single year.
"Regarding influence after my departure. Look. I don’t know if you can call it influence, perhaps. I don’t know what the right word is. But company directors did indeed reach out to me, and I understood the situation in the energy sector. I don’t see anything wrong with that," Halushchenko asserted.
"Let us move on. Unidentified persons, in an unidentified manner, supposedly passed something to someone. If there had been anything, I would definitely have appeared on the tapes," Herman Halushchenko insisted, commenting on the alleged receipt of undue advantage.
Incidentally, speaking to journalists before the hearing, Halushchenko gave a very curious comment on the high cost of his children’s education.
According to him, his son’s tuition at one of Europe’s most expensive private colleges was paid by the boy’s godfather, who is "very wealthy".
"There is different money there; everyone finds this very interesting. Different people paid there: the first year, the godfather paid, then another person. I have many compadres, and they are all wealthy," Halushchenko said.
Earlier, he had given an equally curious explanation of how he knew Timur Mindich.
"In Kyiv, our children went to the same school, in the same class. This was around 2017–2019. We have kept in touch since then, but I would not say we were particularly close friends… The last time I spoke and met with Mindich was in the summer of 2025 — perhaps July or August. In an apartment on Hrushevskoho Street. It was just a personal meeting, we were simply talking about something; nothing of note was discussed there, no issues at all," Halushchenko stressed, adding that Oleksandr Tsukerman, who is now another suspect in the Midas case, was also present at that meeting, BBC recalls.
During the court session, the judge addressed Halushchenko: "If I suddenly conclude that the prosecutor's petition is justified, what bail amount are you prepared to post?"
Halushchenko responded to this remark with a smile.
"I am just thinking about the amount. Well, I don’t know, I think I could find 20 or 30 million," the former minister said.
The judge decided otherwise — he set the preventive measure at 200 million. Other individuals may post the bail for Halushchenko, provided the funds are from legal sources.
In the early stages of the "Midas" case, rumors reached NABU and SAPO that specific companies were collecting money for the bail of those involved in the case even before the rulings were announced. It will be interesting to see whether they manage to raise the money for Halushchenko.
Tetiana Nikolaienko, Censor.NET
