Eighty-three candidates apply for four Energoatom Supervisory Board seats

The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture confirms plans to approve the new Supervisory Board of JSC Energoatom by the end of this year: 83 candidates applied for the competition for the positions of four independent members of the board, Deputy Minister Anna Artemenko reported, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reports.

"Some expected that strong candidates with expertise in both nuclear energy and corporate governance would not come after the scandal. However, according to a preliminary assessment, there will be a fairly strong shortlist of twenty well-known candidates, including foreigners, who are ready to undergo the competitive selection process," she said at the International Corporate Directors Forum in Kyiv on Friday. The forum was organized by the Corporate Governance Professional Association (CGPA).

Artemenko clarified that the deadline to submit applications for the competition was December 4.

"We will hold nomination committees with candidates just before Christmas," the deputy minister added.

She emphasized that, unlike the initial decision, the competition is being held according to the full procedure. This was made possible because the competition for two independent members began in September. Thus, part of the preparatory work had already been carried out by a professional recruiter.

Artemenko also noted that the government’s decision to conduct its own assessment of the supervisory board’s activities was ad hoc and reactive, in response to the situation at Energoatom following NABU’s announcement of information in the Midas case.

"This decision was reactive, temporary, and ad hoc. It will not be applied systematically, and changes will most likely be made in the near future. We may switch to the standard assessment regime provided for by current regulatory acts," the deputy minister explained.

On November 10, NABU and SAPO announced Operation Midas, which lasted almost one and a half years. As part of the operation, a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector was exposed, particularly money laundering at Energoatom. NABU Director Semen Kryvonos noted that approximately $100 million passed through the money laundering "office" organized by corrupt officials and that the funds were withdrawn abroad in large volumes.