The country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has arrested former Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko while crossing the border in connection with a major corruption scandal, according to a recent Al Jazeera report.

Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said it had arrested former Energy Minister German Galushchenko while crossing the border. He resigned last year after a major corruption scandal in the energy sector.

"Today, the former Minister of Energy was detained in the "Midas" case while crossing the state border," NABU said in a statement, without mentioning Galushchenko by name. He served as Ukraine's Energy Minister last year and resigned in November 2025.

The agency also said that preliminary investigations are underway in accordance with legal provisions and court permission. Several ministers resigned after a major money laundering conspiracy in the energy sector was uncovered in 2025. Investigators believe that a close aide of President Volodymyr Zelensky was behind the conspiracy.

Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutors' Office (SAPO) said that businessman Timur Mindich planned the corruption worth about $100 million.

SAPO investigators claim that Galushchenko helped Mindich manage illicit money flows in the energy sector. In addition, contractors working with the state-owned energy company Energoatom were forced to pay bribes of 10 to 15 percent to avoid cancellation of contracts or delays in payment.

The scandal also led to the resignation of Ukraine's two previous energy ministers, as well as the head of President Zelensky's office. However, both ministers and the former head of the office have denied the corruption allegations.

Ukraine has made the fight against corruption a key reform agenda as it seeks to join the European Union, and officials say the country's biggest challenge now is to overcome long-standing institutional corruption.