On Wednesday morning, November 19, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) conducted a search at the home of Vitaliy Brovko, the new Director of Security for the Naftogaz Group.
As reported by Hvylya, this information was provided by sources within one of the state-owned companies to the Ekonomichna Pravda (EP). According to the sources, the investigative actions took place on Wednesday morning in central Kyiv.
"The searches may be connected with the Mindich tapes and Brovko's activity in his previous position at the Prosecutor General's Office," a source said.
Allegations and Company Denial
Meanwhile, Oleksii Honcharenko, a Member of Parliament from the European Solidarity faction, also reported on his Telegrazm channel that NABU detectives were conducting searches at Naftogaz. Specifically, he stated that the searches were underway at the home of Security Director Vitaliy Brovko. "His phone has already been seized... Before joining Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov's team, Brovko worked at the Prosecutor General's Office, where he oversaw the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR)," the MP clarified.
However, Naftogaz reported that the information regarding alleged searches in their offices was untrue. "No searches are being conducted in the offices of the Naftogaz Group. The information disseminated in the media is false," the company's statement read. At the same time, Naftogaz stressed that they cooperate with anti-corruption and law enforcement bodies, adding that "this applies to all employees without exception." "Should any violations be established, immediate measures will be taken against the respective employees," the press service added.
The company is not commenting on the information regarding the possible detention of Vitaliy Brovko.
In response to media inquiries, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has confirmed that its detectives, under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), conducted searches at the home of the Director of Security for the Naftogaz of Ukraine Group.
"No person has been detained, and no notice of suspicion has been served. The investigative actions were sanctioned and carried out in accordance with current legislation. These measures do not concern the activities of Naftogaz itself," the NABU statement reads.
NABU also emphasized that other details would not be disclosed to maintain the confidentiality of the pre-trial investigation.
Background: Brovko and the Crypto Portfolio
EP writes that Brovko was appointed to Naftogaz at the end of August, having transferred from the Prosecutor General's Office. According to his declaration, Brovko possesses a significant volume of cryptocurrency assets. Forbes Ukraine even dubbed him the "leader in the amount of crypto-dollars" (referring to the stablecoin USDT, which is equivalent to one US dollar). Specifically, the newly appointed Head of Security for the Naftogaz Group reported holding USDT on the Binance exchange valued at over 35 million hryvnias. Furthermore, the investment portfolio of Brovko and his family members includes the following digital assets: Ripple (XRP), Toncoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Ethereum Classic, Monero, Dash, Lunc, and others. The total value of the declared cryptocurrencies as of the end of April this year exceeded 44 million hryvnias.
The Brovko family rents a 183.2-square-meter apartment in the capital, owned by Nina Piskunova. They have access to three vehicles: a 2022 Toyota RAV4 (valued at 2.3 million UAH), a 2020 Lexus RX450 (valued at 2.6 million UAH), and a 2018 Ford Expedition (valued at 1.64 million UAH). Only the latter car is registered in Brovko's name; the other two are registered to his spouse or her mother.
In the income section, Brovko declared a salary of 1.56 million hryvnias, which he received at the Prosecutor General's Office. His wife, Tetiana Brovko, earned 8.22 million hryvnias from business activities and 2.46 million hryvnias from the sale of cryptocurrency. Their bank accounts hold 2.68 million hryvnias, $40,520, and €73,750. The largest deposit, €65,300, is held in the Slovak bank Tatra Bank.
Operation Midas and Mindich's Alleged Role
We previously reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) conducted a large-scale operation named "Midas," during which they uncovered an influential criminal organization operating in the energy sector. The scheme's alleged mastermind is businessman Timur Mindich, a co-owner of the Kvartal-95 studio and a former business partner of President Zelensky. The investigation claims that Mindich influenced former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko and former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Five people have already been detained, and several others have been charged. The list of those involved includes:
-
Timur Mindich
-
Ihor Myroniuk (former advisor to the Head of the Energy Ministry)
-
Dmytro Basov (former Head of Security at Energoatom)
-
Four individuals involved in money laundering: Oleksandr Tsukerman, Ihor Fursenko, Lesia Ustymenko, Lyudmyla Zorina
