Media established that MP Kucherenko is mentioned in "Mindich tapes": he called the journalists "degenerates". VIDEO
Oleksii Kucherenko, First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy (Batkivshchyna faction), may have had contacts with individuals implicated in the energy sector corruption case (Midas).
This is reported in an article by "Schemes", as reported by Censor.NET.
Details
Until October 2025, Kucherenko also headed a temporary investigative commission (TIC) in parliament – also on energy matters.
According to the resolution establishing the TIC, its tasks included investigating violations in the management system of strategic energy enterprises. These included the state-owned "Energoatom".
"On 30 October 2025, the investigative commission headed by Oleksii Kucherenko presented a 320-page final report containing its findings. Working effectively in parallel with the NABU investigation, the parliamentary TIC found no evidence of corruption at 'Energoatom'," the authors of the article noted.
At the same time, the publication notes that the TIC focused its criticism on another state-owned enterprise – "Ukrenergo". Its head, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, had previously been dismissed from his post, a move that drew criticism from Western partners.
"Support for Halushchenko was also evident in statements by Kucherenko, who criticised the NABU detectives’ investigation into the ‘Midas’ case. And, according to the publication ‘Nashi Hroshi’, it was mutual – journalists exposed how, through his ministerial decision, Halushchenko helped businessman Mykola Zisk’s company, linked to the Kucherenko family, to secure a monopoly position in the market for the inspection of flue and ventilation ducts," the authors reported.
Kucherenko on the "Mindich tapes"
Journalists from "Schemes" obtained and verified, with the help of two independent sources, previously unpublished fragments of the "Mindich tapes".
"According to these, Oleksii Kucherenko was a Member of Parliament through whom the subjects of the NABU investigation, Ihor Myroniuk – referred to by NABU as the ‘overseer of Energoatom’ – and Dmytro Basov, at that time the executive director of a physical protection and security firm, were able to influence legislative initiatives and, likely, exert pressure on regulatory bodies," the investigation states.
One of the conversations intercepted by law enforcement took place on 9 July 2025 between Myroniuk and Basov.
"In this excerpt from the 'Mindich tapes', the interlocutors discuss how, through MP Kucherenko, to resolve their problem with the fact that a new government decision has jeopardised the continued existence of their embezzlement scheme at 'Energoatom'. The company had the right not to pay contractors the outstanding amounts under contracts during the great war.
According to the investigation, it was precisely this that allowed Basov and Myroniuk – now suspects in the energy sector embezzlement case – to implement the ‘Barrier’ scheme, demanding kickbacks from Energoatom’s contractors in exchange for receiving payments from the company. But in June 2025, this moratorium for 'Energoatom' was lifted by a government decision. This, according to law enforcement officials, is what forced the figures involved in the ‘Midas’ case to seek a solution to their problem in parliament," the authors of the article added.
Two days after this conversation between Myroniuk and Basov, "Energoatom" issued a statement saying that the State Enforcement Service had seized 126 million hryvnias from its accounts. On the same day, the publication "Glavkom" reported that the company’s debts to contractors had reached approximately 1.5–2 billion hryvnias.
Responding to a question from "Schemes", Kucherenko noted that Myroniuk and Basov had not approached him: "They definitely didn’t approach me… I didn’t realise who they were until the very last moment. I didn’t receive any requests from them. Accordingly, I didn’t do anything at their request, couldn’t have and wouldn’t have done so."
"Apart from Kucherenko, the names of two other members of the Temporary Investigation Commission on Energy were mentioned on the recordings. This came to light during the hearing on the application for a preventive measure against Dmytro Basov on 12 November 2025.
In another conversation between Basov and Myroniuk, intercepted by law enforcement, the discussion centred on MPs Anna Skorokhod (the ‘For the Future’ group) and Serhii Nahorniak (the ‘Servant of the People’ faction)," the journalists noted.
Connection with Tsukerman
The journalists also obtained a contract for the sale of property in central Kyiv by Kucherenko. It suggests that the former head of the energy TIC had dealings with another figure in the NABU investigation – Oleksandr Tsukerman – even before Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidency. Acting on his wife’s behalf, the MP sold an apartment in a building in central Kyiv to his family, where, according to law enforcement, one of the ‘back offices’ was later set up to collect cash for transfer to high-ranking officials.
The value of the flat, according to the agreement, was almost 9 million hryvnias, or 340,000 dollars at the exchange rate at the time. This equates to around 900 dollars per square metre at the time of sale.
According to a property expert interviewed by "Schemes", this price may be at least half what it should be, as the flat is located in the very centre of Kyiv in a building that is a listed architectural monument.
Denial of links
Following the announcement of charges against those implicated in the "Midas" case and the flight of some of them abroad, Kucherenko, in an interview with journalists, described this investigation by the anti-corruption authorities as an attack on the state leadership.
Later, during a live broadcast of Radio Svoboda’s programme "Svoboda.Live", the MP denied knowing any of the individuals implicated in the "Midas" case.
He denied knowing Dmytro Basov, whilst regarding Ihor Myroniuk, as the MP noted, he had met him several times at meetings with the then Minister of Energy, Herman Halushchenko. At the same time, he dismissed claims that other figures in the "Midas" case, Basov and Myroniuk, had approached him with requests.
Kucherenko denied knowing Oleksandr Tsukerman personally, but admitted that he had met his wife:
"Schemes" asked Oleksii Kucherenko whether he saw a conflict of interest in his work as a Member of Parliament, given his membership of the parliamentary committee and chairmanship of the energy commission on the one hand, and his acquaintance with some of the figures involved in the "Midas" case on the other.
The MP did not provide a direct answer to this question. Instead, he resorted to swearing and disparaging remarks against the journalists.
In the end, Kucherenko unilaterally cut short the interview: "Sorry, we’ll end the discussion on energy issues and nuclear power here. Thank you for your attention."
Later, in response to a written request from "Schemes", the MP stated that he did not see a conflict of interest in the circumstances cited by the journalists.
