Behind Mindich folders is Artem Shylo - Zhelezniak

The confidential dossiers of MPs, journalists and other officials that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) detectives found in the office of businessman Tymur Mindich were prepared by employees of the Economic Security Bureau (ESB), and one of the key coordinators of this work was Artem Shylo - a former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), former adviser to the President's Office and current defendant in a corruption case being considered by the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC).

This is stated in the investigation of the MP, deputy chairman of the Finance and Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada Yaroslav Zhelezniak.

According to Zhelezniak, the dossiers found in Mindich's office contained official information with limited access and data from closed registers that could only be obtained by law enforcement agencies. He emphasized that the form of documents, tables and sections fully coincides with the standards used by the analytical department of the ESB in the previous composition. The MP also showed an electronic version of the ESB analytical report about him, which, according to him, was once given to him by the Bureau's employees. This report turned out to be identical to the paper "Mindich folder" found by NABU detectives.

In the video, Zhelezniak noted that during the preparation of these materials, there was an "external curator" in the Bureau, and directly called Artem Shylo the person who "organized the work of preparing information dossiers on officials".

Recall, Artem Shylo is a former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine, who after leaving the SSU became an advisor in the President's Office and an influential informal link between individual law enforcement agencies and officials. In April 2024, the NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) announced suspicion against him in the case of embezzlement of funds during procurement for Ukrzaliznytsia. Several former SSU employees and entrepreneurs associated with state procurement are involved in the same case. The materials on Shylo are currently being considered by the High Anti-Corruption Court.

After the announcement of suspicion, Shylo left Ukraine. According to journalistic investigations by NV and Skhemy (Radio Liberty), he is in the United Arab Emirates, where his family was found to have significant assets. Investigators found that Shylo's wife, Iryna, purchased eight apartments and one hotel room in Dubai between 2021 and 2022. The total value of the real estate exceeded USD 4 million. Some of these properties were later sold, but the sales took place after the case began at the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The journalists also found that Shylo regularly traveled between the UAE, Georgia, and Europe, despite the existence of criminal proceedings in Ukraine. This raised questions about the grounds on which he left the country, and whether he had official permits for this.

During the period when, according to Zhelezniak, the "Mindich files" were being prepared, Shylo had significant informal influence on the management of the ESB. At the same time, the deputy director of the Bureau was Vitalii Hahach, a former SSU employee who had worked with Shylo in previous structures. According to several sources, ESB actually found itself in the sphere of influence of a group associated with Shylo. Thanks to this, he could have access to analytical units, which are credited with creating the certificates found in Mindich.

In addition, it was the tandem of Shylo and Hahach that previously appeared in informal processes surrounding the sanctions pressure on Ibox Bank and Concord Bank. According to sources in the financial market, the industry viewed this as an attempt to strengthen the position of Sense Bank.

Yaroslav Zhelezniak emphasized that all the aforementioned dossiers were created before the ESB was rebooted, that is, they were prepared by employees of the previous composition. He drew attention to the low quality of the analytical materials and the errors in them, which coincide with those in the old ESB certificates, in particular, false information about his "career as a metallurgist at the Ilyich plant." According to him, it was these characteristic elements that gave him the opportunity to identify the authors of the documents. The MP said that he would transfer all the collected materials to the new ESB management and the certification commission, which is currently cleaning up the Bureau.

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