Khaberni - The Ukrainian government dismissed the Minister of Justice Gherman Galushchenko in the context of an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau concerning the energy sector.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated that the Cabinet held an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning and decided to relieve Galushchenko of his duties, and assigned his roles to the Deputy Minister for European Integration, Lyudmila Suga.
The decision came days after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced a large-scale special operation in the energy sector, during which it published photos of bags containing large amounts of foreign currency that were seized during the raids.
According to Ukrainian media, the inspections included the dismissed minister’s home, the offices of the "Energoatom" nuclear energy company, as well as the homes of several people close to Volodymyr Zelensky, among them businessman Teymur Menditc, who reportedly left the country hastily before the raids began.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau clarified that the campaign, named "Midas," included more than 70 raids, and that it possesses about a thousand hours of audio recordings related to the case, and had begun publishing the first clips from them.
In his first comment on the decision, Galushchenko said he understands the political motives behind the dismissal, but he will continue to legally defend himself to prove his innocence, affirming that what is happening is a "political decision that will later require clarification of the legal details."
The Bureau later published audio clips it said document conversations between Menditc and former officials in the energy sector, relating to suspicious deals suspected to be at the core of the ongoing corruption case.
