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What the Galushchenko arrest meant for Kyiv
Summary
A look back at the Operation Midas case, in which a former energy minister was detained at the border in mid-February 2026.
What did the detention of a former energy minister say about Ukraine's anti-corruption machinery as of 19 February 2026? Four days earlier, on 15 February, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau had arrested German Galushchenko at the state border. The charges concerned his alleged involvement in a kickback scheme in the energy sector, put at ₴4 billion (about US$100 million).
The arrest was part of Operation Midas. As reported at the time, Galushchenko was detained as he tried to leave Ukraine by train, which gave the case an added dimension beyond the corruption allegations themselves.
An investigation years in the making
The operation was an inquiry by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, launched in 2024. It concerned large-scale bribery in the energy sector during the Russo-Ukrainian war. Its evidence-gathering phase lasted 15 months and included more than 70 searches, the seizure of 4 million US dollars and about 1,000 hours of audio recordings of the suspects' conversations.
What it showed
The case showed investigators able to pursue a former minister over a scheme of this size, and to detain him at the border. It also placed the energy sector, central to Ukraine's wartime resilience, at the centre of an anti-corruption case.
The arrest was only one step in a long inquiry, and the allegations remained allegations.
