Ukrainian businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Administrative Court against President Volodymyr Zelensky, seeking to annul a National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) decree that imposes personal sanctions against him. This legal action follows a similar suit by entrepreneur Timur Mindich, both of whom are implicated in a money laundering investigation related to alleged corruption at Energoatom.
The lawsuit, registered on May 15, was filed one day after Mindich’s case. It is currently in the process of court assignment, with President Zelensky named as the defendant. The Cabinet of Ministers, the NSDC, and the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine are listed as third parties in the case.
On the same day, the Supreme Administrative Court opened proceedings regarding Mindich’s complaint against the president’s sanctions. In a statement to the media, Mindich asserted that he is contesting the sanctions because he is accused of actions he did not commit.
In November 2025, President Zelensky signed a decree imposing sanctions on both Mindich and Tsukerman, who are suspected of money laundering in connection with the Energoatom scandal.
On November 10, 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced the initiation of a large-scale operation named “Midas” aimed at uncovering corruption in the energy sector. This operation involved over 70 searches. According to investigators, the scheme’s organizers received kickbacks amounting to 15% of contract values from Energoatom, paid by companies that were forced upon them by participants in the scheme.
NABU claims that the laundered money was processed in so-called back offices located in central Kyiv, owned by the family of former MP and current Russian senator Andriy Derkach. Investigators allege that the suspects managed to launder a total of $100 million.
On November 10, NABU released recordings of conversations among the suspects, who were identified by code names. The primary figures in the case are businessmen Timur Mindich, known by the code name “Carlson,” and Oleksandr Tsukerman, referred to as “Sugar Man.” They left the country shortly before the searches were conducted, leading to the imposition of sanctions and their subsequent listing as wanted individuals.
According to Oleksandr Abakumov, head of the NABU detective group, the corruption investigation in the energy sector has implicated four ministers from various periods of the Ukrainian government, including former Minister of Energy and Justice Herman Halushchenko, who was also subjected to searches.
On November 12, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko submitted a motion to the Parliament for Halushchenko’s dismissal, as well as that of the Minister of Energy, Svitlana Hrynchuk. On November 19, Parliament approved the motions for the dismissal of both Halushchenko and Hrynchuk.
Former Minister of Economy from 2019 to 2020 and current president of the Kyiv School of Economics, Tymofiy Mylovanov, announced his resignation from the supervisory board of Energoatom. Subsequently, Prime Minister Svyrydenko stated that the government is restructuring Energoatom’s operations, with the first decision being the dissolution of the company’s supervisory board. A new board is expected to be appointed by the end of the year.
Ukrainian businessmen Oleksandr Tsukerman and Timur Mindich have filed lawsuits against President Zelensky, challenging sanctions imposed in connection with a corruption investigation at Energoatom. The legal actions come amid ongoing scrutiny of alleged money laundering activities linked to the energy sector.