Ruslan Magamedrasulov, NABU detective, discusses his role in Operation “Midas,” SBU obstruction, targeted surveillance, and seizures, linking his and his father’s arrests to exposing corruption within Ukraine’s security services.
The arrest of Ruslan Magamedrasulov, head of the detective department of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, and his father on July 21 marked the first public point in a chain of events that led to the biggest political crisis since the full-scale invasion began. The following day, the authorities attempted to eliminate the independence of NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which led to mass protests, the restoration of the status quo, and, ultimately, the disclosure of part of the materials from Operation “Midas,” in which Magamedrasulov was involved. Over the past week, these materials have already led to a series of resignations among high-ranking officials, and NABU assures that testimonies of abuses, for example by Herman Halushchenko and Oleksiy Chernyshov, are far from all the information the bureau plans to make public.
For the Magamedrasulovs, however, the week changed little: their case regarding the alleged formation of a criminal plan “aimed at supporting the aggressor state and harming Ukraine” continues to be heard in the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv, and they remain in pre-trial detention. Yet one change did occur: Ruslan Magamedrasulov can now share more about Operation “Midas” and other investigative actions in which he was involved. Through the detective’s lawyer, Suspilne sent him questions; Ruslan answered them in writing, and NABU authorized the responses. We present them with minor edits. This was reported by Suspilne.
What is your role in this case? What exactly were you involved in?
At this time, I cannot disclose all the details of my involvement, as the pre-trial investigation is ongoing and the documentation of those involved is still in progress. I can only say that I was directly responsible for ensuring that the necessary equipment was installed in the right locations so that my colleagues could record all the individuals involved in the scheme as part of Operation “Midas.”
How did the investigative actions in this case begin? What triggered them?
NABU had long been gathering information on the functioning of so-called back offices of state-owned companies across various sectors. This includes companies within the orbit of the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Economy. All leads in these investigations pointed to a rather narrow circle of individuals who are now publicly known as the key figures in Operation “Midas.” Unfortunately, this activity is often controlled and overseen by representatives of law enforcement agencies.
Did you oversee the process of wiretapping and surveillance of Herman Halushchenko, Svitlana Hrynchuk, Tymur Mindich, Ihor Myroniuk, Dmytro Basov, and others?
The operation was managed by my colleagues from NABU’s specialized unit. They turned to me for assistance specifically in documenting the individuals with the codenames “Carlson” and “Sugarman.” I had the necessary contacts and operational capability to provide this support.
The challenge was that these individuals took measures to minimize the risk of being documented. I was responsible for gathering the required operational information and facilitating NABU’s ability to record their activities. According to my information, “Carlson” acted as a top manager and was not the main beneficiary of the [scheme].
Do you link your arrest and your father’s arrest specifically to the Mindich case? If there is a connection, what is it?
Yes, I do link it to this case as well. However, I believe I became a target of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) because of several cases I was working on at the same time. In addition to documenting the scheme uncovered during Operation “Midas,” I was also working on important SBU personnel — specifically, high‑ranking SBU officials and representatives of the former so‑called Department “K.”
I was documenting schemes that were essentially being protected by SBU employees — in particular, the “K department” wing, or the so‑called political branch of the SBU. These are former officers of the service’s anti‑corruption department who are now part of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood. It is no secret that these people operate under the patronage of SBU head Vasyl Maliuk and his associate Serhii Duka. Notably, the latter directly led the July 21 operation against me and other NABU detectives.
For a long time, the “K‑department” people have considered me their personal enemy — so it is obvious they went after me first, having received a carte blanche from the President’s Office to destroy NABU.
I was the one who previously organized the documentation of Bohdan Yakymets — an individual close to the SBU leadership who, according to our information, acted as an intermediary for resolving issues with the SBU and other law‑enforcement agencies. I also collected materials on the SBU chief’s friend, Anton Kravchuk, one of the heads of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of National Statehood, as well as on department head Oleksii Polishchuk.
In addition, I worked on documenting the back office of the Ministry of Economy, which, according to my information, operated under the control of Serhii Duka and included another classmate of Maliuk, Oleksii Onashko. These are all people close to the head of the SBU. That is why I am convinced that, beyond the order from the President’s Office, this is also an act of personal revenge and an attempt to stop the exposure of criminal activity by SBU representatives.
Over my years at NABU, while exposing various schemes, we constantly faced obstruction from the SBU. It is like an overarching structure that shields schemes across every sector. I am not speaking about the entire SBU — I had friends there who do a great deal for our country’s victory. But a large part of the service — specifically its political wing — unfortunately engages in something entirely different.
In your opinion, how did Mindich gain his position in the system and maintain it? What can you say about his approach to conducting business? Why was the authorities’ reaction to the investigation so sharp?
Mindich was a mid-level manager in oligarch Kolomoisky’s team. As far as I know, during his time managing “Kvartal 95,” he became acquainted with a team that later partially became the government in Ukraine. Thanks to his business skills and resources, he began implementing illegal multi-level schemes within the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Defense.
However, I want to emphasize again that he was only a top manager. Considering the scale, influence, and depth of the corruption schemes embedded in the relevant government bodies, it can be concluded that there are also beneficiaries, without whose political will these processes could not have been carried out.
Have you or other NABU detectives noticed surveillance by the SBU or other agencies? How did this manifest?
Surveillance is a common occurrence for NABU detectives. This year, as before, I repeatedly noticed a lot of activity by law‑enforcement officers from various agencies directed at me. It stopped being surprising long ago — it’s nothing extraordinary anymore.
At the same time, since the beginning of 2025, I noticed that some high‑ranking SBU employees began avoiding operational meetings with me, which in itself indicated increased interest from the SBU — meaning wiretapping and monitoring.
Along with this, during the operation a large amount of my official data carriers was seized: phones, hard drives, flash drives, laptops. Over the past four months, SBU officers have bypassed the security systems and gained access to a significant volume of materials I had been working with. These include documents, audio, video, and more — materials that allowed the SBU to identify sources of information, trusted contacts, and other connections. According to my information, those individuals are now being subjected to systematic pressure — searches, wiretapping, and surveillance — as retaliation for cooperating with NABU in uncovering corruption crimes.
Suspilne has sent formal information requests to the SBU asking them to comment on the facts cited by Magamedrasulov regarding the possible overlap between his professional activities and the interests of the service or certain of its employees — as well as the related alleged pressure. We will publish their responses as soon as we receive them.
Tags: magamedrasulov mindich case nabu
