The Midas scam and the Mindych affair: how Rostislav Shurma, Pavel Shcherban, and Timur Mindych embezzled hundreds of millions

The Midas scam and the Mindych affair: how Rostislav Shurma, Pavel Shcherban, and Timur Mindych embezzled hundreds of millions

02 мая 2026 г.

Petr Pogibin

Large-scale misappropriation of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure funds, allegedly protected by senior officials, has been reported to have caused multi-billion-dollar losses to the state.

Former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostislav Shurma, his associate Pavel Shcherban, and businessman Timur Mindich are described as central figures in these claims. According to reports, funds were allegedly transferred abroad through fictitious guarantees issued via Bank Alliance, with legal requirements disregarded.

We, in turn, are publishing materials on the activities of Rostislav Shurma, Pavel Shcherban, and Timur Mindich to outline the scale of the alleged schemes that, according to these claims, are being concealed from public view.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported suspicions against the former Deputy Head of the Office of the President,  Rostislav Shurma. He, along with his brother and the heads of controlled enterprises, is suspected of embezzling 141 million hryvnias through the "green tariff," funds they allegedly obtained at the expense of energy-generating enterprises located in temporarily occupied territories.

However, this is only one case in which law enforcement has caught Shurma. Journalists have uncovered that the former Deputy Head of the Office of the President may also be implicated in a much more high-profile affair – the so-called Mindichgate.

In November 2025, the NABU announced the exposure of a criminal organization led by businessman and former co-owner of "Kvartal 95," Tymur Mindich. Among the suspects are also the former Minister of Energy, Herman Halushchenko, and several other officials. Investigators suspect that Mindich and his associates received illicit benefits for actions in the interests of "Energoatom" counterparties, subsequently laundering the funds through controlled financial institutions.

In several episodes of the large-scale energy embezzlement scheme, traces of Rostislav Shurma can be seen.

First, it is worth mentioning the case involving damages of 716 million hryvnias to PJSC "NEC Ukrenergo." The investigation established that in March 2022, LLC "United Energy" purchased electricity from "Ukrenergo" for over 716 million hryvnias. Despite the private company delaying payments, electricity continued to be supplied to it. The guarantor of payment was the "Alliance" bank.

Law enforcement found that LLC "United Energy" immediately resold the electricity and withdrew the funds to foreign accounts. The investigation considers businessman Mikhail Kiperman to be the organizer of the scheme, with suspects including the former head of a department at "Ukrenergo," Dmitriy Kondrashov, and the chairperson of the board of "Alliance" bank, Yuliya Frolova.

In November 2025, the State Audit Service reported that "United Energy" owed "Ukrenergo" a total of 1.624 billion hryvnias. Although there was a bank guarantee from "Alliance" bank, the state operator did not enforce it, and the financial institution agreed to cover only 133 million hryvnias of the claim.

According to registries, the owner of "Alliance" bank is Aleksandr Sosis. Meanwhile, among the minority shareholders as of January 1, 2025, is a certain Pavel Shcherban. According to media reports, he is a close friend of the former Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Rostislav Shurma, and is considered one of the overseers of the bank’s activities.

In the same case, there is another striking episode: anti-corruption authorities exposed a lawyer from the "Miller" law firm, Aleksey Nosov, for offering a $200,000 bribe to transfer the case from NABU to the National Police. "Alliance" bank acknowledged having a contract for legal assistance with the "Miller" company. After being exposed for bribery, Nosov was dismissed from the law firm.

Another participant in the high-profile case regarding damages to "Ukrenergo" is Jakob Hartmut. Prior to the disclosure of details in the "Midas" case, he held the position of Vice President of "Energoatom" and was also the head of the separate subdivision "Energoatom-Trading." Hartmut was dismissed from his position in November 2025.

Media reported that, as part of the investigation, the Agency for the Detection, Search, and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) is checking the accounts of individuals involved in the "Midas" case. Among them are Jakob Hartmut and his wife, Oksana.

According to Jakob Hartmut’s declarations, his wife received a salary from the Administrative Office of the Verkhovna Rada Apparatus. According to registries, Oksana Hartmut was an assistant to People’s Deputies from "Servant of the People," MaksimTkachenko and Oksana Khomenko.

Jakob Hartmut is linked to Timur Mindich through a number of connections in London-based companies. Specifically, Hartmut was a co-founder of Delphi Ventures Limited alongside Aleksandr Muzhel, whose name has repeatedly appeared in investigations regarding embezzlement, particularly at the Odesa Portside Plant.

Muzhel is also a co-founder of LHCM LTD, registered in London.

In September 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a proposal by the State Property Fund of Ukraine to appoint a supervisory board for JSC "Energy Company of Ukraine" (ECU). Muzhel became an independent member of the supervisory board as a senior manager of LCHM, a company specializing in compliance and audit issues.

People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak claims that Jakob Hartmut owns a company in London, Harvest Investment Solutions Limited, registered at the same address as Tymur Mindich’s firm, Meylor Global LLP. According to the London registry, Mindich was indeed a person controlling the company, at least in 2021.

Jakob Hartmut’s name is mentioned in yet another energy embezzlement scheme. As previously reported, he held the position of head of the "Energoatom-Trading" subdivision. In April 2024, a contract was signed with a private company, "Svitlo Group M," for the supply of electricity, for which the company underpaid. As a result, "Energoatom" lost approximately 300 million hryvnias. Moreover, there was even an attempt to allow the company to reclaim nearly 40 million hryvnias in VAT through this scheme.

Later, after the issue gained publicity, "Energoatom" began legal proceedings against "Svitlo Group M" to recover hundreds of millions in debt.

Returning to the schemes at the Odesa Portside Plant, where Aleksandr Muzhel was mentioned, it is worth recalling a high-profile case involving 345 million hryvnias. In August 2024, the company "Ukrnaftogazburinnya" won a tender to supply 242.557 million cubic meters of natural gas to the Odesa Portside Plant. However, almost immediately, the company stopped supplying gas to the system, while the Gas Transmission System Operator continued to deliver gas to the plant. As a result, the plant paid for gas that was not supplied by the company. The damages amounted to nearly 345 million hryvnias. "ANTIKOR" described this scheme earlier.

At that time, the General Director of the Gas Transmission System Operator was Dmitriy Lyppa, who resigned in April 2025. He had worked for a long time in the structure of Rinat Akhmetov’s "Metinvest." Rostislav Shurma, mentioned earlier, also had experience working there and could have covered up the embezzlement scheme at the Odesa Portside Plant through Lyppa.

Explaining his desire to resign, Lyppa stated that he had "completed all tasks." At the same time, he denied any influence on the Gas Transmission System Operator from the Office of the President, particularly from the former Deputy Head, Rostislav Shurma.

Last year, journalists found Rostislav Shurma in Germany and his brother Oleg in Austria. Commenting on this story, Shurma tried to joke that he was not hiding anywhere. He immediately noted that no case involving "Shurma and his brother" existed. As we can see, the case does exist, and just recently, he received a suspicion notice from NABU.

This Facebook post by Rostislav Shurma was liked by a long-time business partner of the former Head of the Office of the President, Andrey Yermak – Roza Tapanova. The same person who, under Yermak, was "pushed" into the supervisory boards of "Ukrnafta" and "Oschadbank" and made the director of the National Historical and Memorial Reserve "Babyn Yar."

According to journalists, Rostislav Shurma has now moved from Germany to Austria, where his brother Oleg, who has also been served with a suspicion notice in the "green tariff" scheme, likely resides. However, this is not the only country where the brothers might hide. According to registries, Oleg Shurma has a Cypriot registration. He is one of the ultimate beneficial owners of LLC "Master Finance," where his registration in the picturesque area of Paphos was highlighted.

If you look at Google Maps, Oleg Shurma’s registered address is a luxurious villa with a sea view, a pool, and other attributes of luxury.

A three-bedroom house with three bathrooms, a garden, and a stunning view on the same street is listed for sale on Cypriot real estate websites for 1.5 million dollars.

According to Cyprus registries, since 2017, Oleg Shurma has been the director of Elysium Investment Limited, with an office in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Andrey Yermak was removed from the Office of the President immediately after Mindichgate. Some experts believe that under the codename "Ali Baba" on the recordings published by NABU, it is Yermak who is hidden. The role of Rostislav Shurma, the bank close to him, and probable accomplices in the "Midas" scheme is even more noticeable. Formally, neither one nor the other is involved in the case. And most likely, they will not be. Unless Shurma is slightly "pushed" over the "green tariffs."

But that is a completely different story.