On July 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) announced a second suspicion against Dmytro Basov — referred to as "Tenor" in case materials — as part of Operation "Midas". This time, it concerns not participation in a corruption scheme, but what happened afterwards: the legalization of over 30 million hryvnias between 2023–2025. The charge is Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, money laundering on an especially large scale.
What was purchased with money from the "toll booth"
According to SAP data, the conversion scheme looked like this: two luxury Mercedes-Benz vehicles worth over 8 million hryvnias in total, elite real estate in Ukraine and on the Indonesian island of Bali — totaling the equivalent of over 19 million hryvnias — and "various luxury items". Assets were registered in the name of a close associate, with part of the funds passing through cryptocurrency.
A telling detail noted by analysts: on the eve of the Basov couple's apartment purchase, they officially divorced — apparently to conceal assets. After the transaction, his wife reappeared in his declaration as a person with whom he lives together.
"Using the received funds, the former official purchased two luxury Mercedes-Benz automobiles worth over 8 million hryvnias in total, elite real estate in Ukraine and on the Indonesian island of Bali, as well as various luxury items"
Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office
Who is "Tenor" and why is he still free
Basov held the position of executive director of physical protection and security at Energoatom — the company that operates three nuclear power plants under Ukrainian control and provides over half of the country's electricity. According to the investigation, it was he who provided the "roof" for the "toll booth" scheme — a system whereby contractors paid 10–15% of contract value to prevent already-completed work from being blocked.
Tenor received his first suspicion back in November 2025 — simultaneously with Timur Mindich ("Carlson"), former Energy Minister German Galushchenko, and former Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov. In December 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court released Basov on bail of 40 million hryvnias. The new suspicion announced on July 10 is a separate proceeding that investigates not the scheme itself, but the movement of money after it.
Context: scale of Operation "Midas"
The operation lasted 15 months in covert mode: detectives collected approximately 1000 hours of audio recordings and conducted over 70 searches. The total amount of unlawful benefit in the case, according to NABU's assessment, reaches approximately $100 million. The investigation is conducting parallel work in ten jurisdictions — some suspects and assets are located abroad.
At one HACC hearing, Basov himself could not tell the judge his exact job title at Energoatom, explaining that he works as an "expert of an expert group on expert matters". In published audio recordings, he and Ihor Myronyk discuss how to use Deputy Head of SAP Andriy Synyuk as a source of confidential information about investigative actions.
If the HACC leaves Basov under bail rather than in custody on this suspicion as well — Operation "Midas" would establish an important precedent: whether a second suspicion is grounds for reviewing a preventive measure, or whether the system will consider the first bail sufficient response to both episodes.
