Che Guevara – Chernyshev. Former Deputy Prime Minister is already being interrogated in Mindic case – source

A former deputy prime minister, known internally as Che Guevara, may be involved in the Midas case on corruption in the energy sector. This was reported to by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. According to an interlocutor of LIGA.net , it is Oleksiy Chernyshev.

The source said that Chernyshov is currently being interrogated and testifying. When asked by LIGA.net whether Chernyshov is to be taken into custody, the NABU source said that this issue needs to be further substantiated.

The NABU reported that, together with the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, it had documented that participants in the Midas case had transferred funds to the former Deputy Prime Minister. In total, the transfer of $1.2 million and almost 100,000 euros in cash was recorded and documented. This took place directly in the office or in a medical clinic owned by one of the participants in the scheme.

The last amount, $500,000, was transferred to Che Guevara's wife (Svitlana Chernysheva) after he himself became a suspect in corruption crimes by the NABU and SAPO.

LIGA.net asked Chernyshev himself for a comment.

ADDED at 18:40. NABU and SAPO notified former Deputy Prime Minister of suspicion of illicit enrichment.

According to the investigation, the former official was among the people who visited the so-called "laundry" – a place where the money obtained through criminal means was legalized. The "laundry" was controlled by the head of a criminal organization, law enforcement officials said .

• Chernyshov is suspected of participating in a corrupt land scheme during his tenure as Minister of Community and Territorial Development. Investigators say that the top official created conditions for the transfer of the land plot to a state-owned enterprise, which then entered into investment agreements for its development. At the same time, the land and buildings on it were valued at almost five times cheaper than the market value.
• For the implementation of this scheme, the developer allegedly provided officials with apartments at significant discounts – at UAH 1000-8000 per square meter instead of the market price of UAH 30,000. Law enforcement officers estimate the total amount of bribes at UAH 16.8 million, of which UAH 14.5 million were allegedly intended for Chernyshev. The top official himself denies these accusations .
• On the eve of receiving the suspicion, Deputy Prime Minister arrived in Ukraine from a business trip abroad. The media reported that he was not going to return because of the anti-corruption investigation against him, but Chernyshov called this information a "discrediting campaign.".
• On July 2, Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov was released on bail in the amount of UAH 120 million. And on July 29, a Bihus.Info investigation reported that Chernyshov may be connected to the construction of elite estates near Kyiv.