Third episode of 'Mindich tapes' refutes claims Zuckerman, Mindich planned their departure from Ukraine in advance – media
Ukrainska Pravda has published the third episode of audio materials documented by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) as part of Operation Midas, aimed at exposing corruption in the energy sector involving high-ranking Ukrainian officials.
The author's description of the material says the new part of the so-called "Mindich tapes" contains information on whether the figures in the Midas case had a source of leaks within NABU and SAPO, how the main figures in NABU and SAPO's Operation Midas, Oleksandr Zuckerman and Timur Mindich, may have managed to leave the country before searches and notices of suspicion, and who helped them avoid punishment.
"In November 2025, Ukrainska Pravda reported that the source of the leak about the start of the operation could have been SAPO Deputy Head Andriy Syniuk. After Ukrainska Pravda's article, Syniuk resigned, while the heads of the anti-corruption agencies repeatedly stressed that an investigation into all the circumstances of Zuckerman's and Mindich's departure abroad was ongoing. While the figures themselves insisted in interviews with UP that they had left as planned, the materials of Operation Midas that came into our editorial office's possession may indicate the opposite," the report reads.
According to Suspilne, figures in the case concerning embezzlement at JSC Energoatom, Ihor Myroniuk and Dmytro Basov, said that Syniuk "is a good contact" at SAPO and "can help" with cases. Ukrainska Pravda also claims that Syniuk allegedly has links with Deputy Head of the President's Office Oleh Tatarov.
It is also noted that in October 2025 Syniuk allegedly accessed the internal database of the anti-corruption agencies and searched for information about Mindich and Zuckerman there, but later denied any involvement in the case, saying he had learned about the Energoatom case from the media. Syniuk resigned from SAPO after media reports emerged about his possible involvement in the Energoatom embezzlement case.
As reported, on November 10, 2025, NABU and SAPO announced a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector, dubbed Midas. According to law enforcement officers, they documented the activities of a high-level criminal organization whose participants had built a large-scale corruption scheme to exert influence on strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC Energoatom.
Among the participants in the Midas scheme identified by NABU are businessman Mindich, member of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission Serhiy Pushkar, former Energoatom executive director for physical protection and security Dmytro Basov, and former adviser to the energy minister and former deputy head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine Ihor Myroniuk. Mindich left Ukraine on November 10, 2025, several hours before the searches.
The case later also became known as "Mindichgate." NABU and SAPO are currently continuing their investigation.
On April 29, Ukrainska Pravda published part of the audio materials from the Midas case, which it allegedly received from sources in political circles. They became known as the "Mindich tapes." The first part contains conversations recorded by NABU in Mindich's apartment with several people: Serhiy Shefir, former first aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Natalia, who likely manages the construction of estates in the Dynasty cooperative; and current National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov. In particular, Mindich and former defense minister, now NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov, discussed the potential sale of a stake in weapons manufacturer FirePoint to investors.
