Ukrainian Businessman Embroiled In Massive Corruption Scandal Fled To Poland In Luxury Taxi

Tymur Mindich, a prominent businessman and the alleged ringleader of a massive corruption scandal in Ukraine’s energy sector, used a luxury taxi service to leave the country for Poland hours before authorities launched raids in connection with their investigation, RFE/RL has learned.

Reporting by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, shows that Mindich used TimeLux, a luxury transportation company based in the western city of Lviv, and left Ukraine at 2:09 a.m. on November 10 in a Mercedes-Benz S 350 registered to one of the firm’s owners.

SEE ALSO: From Army To Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Corruption Scandal Rocks Country

Schemes learned the license plate number of the car from law-enforcement sources with access to data about Mindich’s border crossing and then tracked the car through social media posts to determine its owner.

Mindich's departure from Ukraine in the hours ahead of raids launched by investigators has sparked controversy. Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog has said it has found a "large-scale operation" exposing tens of millions of dollars of graft in the energy sector in the midst of Russia's full-scale invasion. Mindich's involvement has also led to uproar due to his past connections to leading political figures, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The use of the luxury taxi service offers new details about how Mindich, a 46-year-old well-connected businessman in Ukraine, left the country shortly before his home was searched by police on November 10 as part of one of the largest corruption scandals in the country since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.

What Does The Luxury Taxi Company Tell Us About How Mindich Left Ukraine?

The Mercedes-Benz S 350 belongs to 38-year-old Lviv-based entrepreneur Maksym Vovk, who records show is the director and lead owner of TimeLux.

When contacted by RFE/RL, Vovk said that “the company does not check passengers' documents” and that this responsibility rests with Ukraine’s border authorities.

SEE ALSO: Ukraine's Big Corruption Scandal Cuts Close To Zelenskyy. Will He Weather It?

“I do not have the information to comment on your question,” he said and when asked whether he knew Mindich, he replied: “Thank God, no.”

Another co-owner of TimeLux is Eldar Asadulayev, who previously worked in the western regional department of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service. He is also listed in one of the license plate verification applications as “head of the anti-smuggling department of the Border Guard Service.”

Contacted by phone, Asadulayev replied only briefly when asked by RFE/RL whether he knows Mindich and is aware that he used TimeLux to leave the country.

“This is the first time I’ve heard about it,” Asadulayev said, and then hung up.

TimeLux was only registered in May of this year. The company does not own any real estate for a physical office or have any vehicles registered to its name. The firm holds a valid license for domestic and international passenger transportation, and its social media posts show that it began providing services even before its formal registration.

The company’s website says that it offers customers premium transportation to Poland, Moldova, and Romania and in advertisements it promises “fast border crossing,” “full support,” and “customized routes based on the client’s wishes.”

Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said previously that they had conducted their own official investigation to establish the circumstances of Mindich's crossing of the border.

"According to the results of the inspection, we note that the border crossing by this citizen was legal. He was issued a border-crossing permit to leave Ukraine at one of the checkpoints in accordance with the norms of current legislation,” the agency said in a statement. “All documents that give the right to cross the border during martial law were available. We would like to separately note that no restrictions were imposed on him prohibiting him from leaving Ukraine.”

Mindich has not commented publicly on the corruption allegations or on his departure from Ukraine in the early hours of November 10.

What Is The Corruption Scandal That Implicates Mindich?

Several people have been implicated in Operation Midas, an ongoing investigation that was launched by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) as a joint operation with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

They announced that they had found a plot involving "a high-level criminal organization" aimed to "influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC 'Energoatom,'" a state-owned nuclear energy company.

The case has rocked Ukraine not just for the scale of corruption as the country is at war with Russia, but for the well-connected individuals involved.

Mindich is a co-owner of the Kvartal 95 comedy troupe that Zelenskyy also co-owned before he ran for office.

The business was an important vehicle for Zelenskyy to gain popularity as a comedian and actor before entering politics. Mindich was also a business partner with billionaire Ihor Kolomoyskiy, who backed Zelenskyy's 2019 presidential campaign and who has been in pretrial detention since 2023 on fraud and money-laundering charges.

Another high-profile figure involved in the case is Herman Halushchenko, who was suspended from his position of justice minister on November 12. He previously served as energy minister.

Halushchenko said he would defend himself in court from claims he had received "personal benefits" from Mindich in the alleged kickback scheme.

SEE ALSO: Ukraine's Energy Sector Under Investigation By Anti-Corruption Watchdog

Former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is currently secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, are also implicated in the case.

Umerov has denied involvement. Separate corruption charges were brought against Chernyshov in June.

Zelenskyy has lauded the anti-corruption investigation, which involved more than 70 raids, saying that “all and any steps against corruption are very necessary.”

On November 12, Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk tendered her resignation, following a call by Zelenskyy for her to go. She insisted she had not broken the law.

But how Mindich knew to leave the country ahead of the raids remains a central question for investigators moving forward.

Viktor Chumak, chief military prosecutor in 2019-20 and acting prosecutor-general in 2020, previously told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that "it is absolutely impossible, unless you are helped by law enforcement officers" to exit the country quickly amid Ukraine's wartime travel restrictions.