Zelensky's Chief of Staff Budanov Suspected of Money Laundering in Energoatom Case

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, is suspected of organizing a money-laundering scheme, according to Ukrainian media citing a leaked indictment text against his former deputy, Iryna Mudrova. At issue is the laundering of 150 million hryvnias (over 70.9 million korunas), allegedly used as bail for the arrested former Minister of Energy and Justice, Herman Halushchenko.

According to the leaked document, on 9 June 2026 Mudrova was approached by an official from the President's Office with a proposal to help legalize cash whose origins, given the circumstances of the case, were linked to criminal activity. The document states that Mudrova was acting on the orders of her direct superior — and her only superior in the President's Office was Budanov himself. According to media reports, transcripts of investigators' recordings repeatedly mention "Kyrylo," "Kyrylo Oleksiiovych," as well as direct references to Budanov's surname.

When asked in late August about why his name appeared in these documents, Budanov himself gave an evasive answer: "Let the court decide that. You know, my name comes up in a lot of places."

Operation "Midas" and the corruption scheme around Energoatom

The whole story is tied to a large-scale investigation known as Operation "Midas," centered on the state nuclear power company Energoatom. According to investigators, a group linked to Timur Mindich — Zelensky's longtime friend and former business partner — influenced the allocation of state contracts and collected kickbacks from deals.

It was allegedly Mindich, who fled to Israel and is now under Ukrainian sanctions, who provided the 150 million hryvnias for Halushchenko's bail. MP Maksym Mykytas, also implicated in the case, stated in June that Mindich personally handed over the cash intended for Halushchenko's bail to "Kyrylo Oleksiiovych." The money was then deposited into Sense Bank, from which the bail for the former minister was effectively paid via a non-cash transfer.

How the bank fell under informal control

In the same transcripts, Mudrova reportedly claims that Sense Bank's management was ready to follow "Kyrylo's" instructions and deliver money wherever he demanded. On 10 June, according to the leaked indictment text, the President's Office official and Mudrova met in Kyiv with Sense Bank's then-CEO Oleksii Stupak and the bank's supervisory board chairman, Mykola Hladyshchenko.

Following that meeting, Stupak and Hladyshchenko allegedly agreed to continue operating under the informal control of the President's Office official and Mudrova — since their previous handler, the alleged leader of the criminal organization Timur Mindich, was wanted by police and could no longer fully perform that role.

Under pressure from the scandal surrounding Operation "Midas" and the Energoatom affair, Zelensky's previous chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned last November, along with several others. In May 2026, he was charged with money laundering and taken into custody, though he was soon released on bail. Halushchenko himself is also currently free after paying bail. Budanov succeeded Yermak as head of the President's Office in January this year; before that, he headed Ukraine's military intelligence.

Source: novinky.cz