Ukranian president promises accountability after anticorruption bureau announces probe into alleged Energoatom scheme.<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s anticorruption<\/a> agency has launched an investigation into an alleged $100m kickback scheme involving Energoatom, the state-run nuclear power company that supplies more than half of the country\u2019s electricity.<\/p>\n The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which operates independently of the government, announced the probe on Monday as the country faces another harsh winter under daily Russian bombardment<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n In a statement posted on social media, NABU said that a \u201chigh-level criminal organisation\u201d orchestrated the alleged scheme, led by a businessman and involving a former adviser to the energy minister, Energoatom\u2019s head of security, and four other employees.<\/p>\n \u201cIn total, approximately 100 million USD passed through this so-called laundromat,\u201d NABU said, without naming the suspects.<\/p>\n \u201cThe minister\u2019s adviser and the director of security at Energoatom took control of all the company\u2019s purchases and created conditions under which all contractors had to pay illegal benefits,\u201d according to NABU chief detective Oleksandr Abakumov.<\/p>\n He said the group discussed increasing the kickback rate during work on protective structures at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant last October.<\/p>\n Investigators said Energoatom\u2019s contractors were forced to pay bribes of 10 to 15 percent to avoid losing contracts or facing payment delays.<\/p>\n \u201cA strategic enterprise with annual income exceeding 200 billion hryvnias [$4.7bn] was managed not by authorised officials but by individuals with no formal authority,\u201d NABU said.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy calls for \u2018criminal verdicts\u2019<\/p>\n President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing the nation on Monday evening, urged full cooperation with the investigation. \u201cEveryone who has been involved in corruption schemes must receive a clear legal response. There must be criminal verdicts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n