Ukraine has been shaken by a €90 million corruption scheme allegedly orchestrated by businessman Timur Mindich – a long-time associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky – prompting the president to impose asset-freezing sanctions and demand the resignation of his energy and justice ministers.
The scandal, which has unfolded as the country deals with Russian strikes that have battered its power grid ahead of winter, centres on revelations from Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies that a criminal network allegedly siphoned off €90 million from contracts linked to the state nuclear company, Energoatom.
Investigators say the network was run by Mindich – a businessman and a co-owner of Zelensky's former TV studio Kvartal95 – who reportedly fled the country hours before the scheme came to light.
Zelensky on Wednesday told Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko to resign, and on Thursday announced a decree freezing Mindich's assets.
The scandal has triggered a crisis of confidence in the Ukrainian president, who was elected on an anti-corruption platform, with opposition figures calling for a change of government.
According to Daria Kaleniuk, director of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre in Kyiv, the scale of the scheme makes it unlike anything Ukraine, a country well-versed in dealing with corruption, has faced before.
RFI: How do you feel about this new corruption scandal?
Daria Kaleniuk: I wouldn't say I'm surprised, because I've been working in the anti-corruption sector in Ukraine for many years. That said, I am outraged by the scale and the manner in which this type of embezzlement has been committed in Ukraine.
Recordings revealed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau have shown that people close to Zelensky, including Timur Mindich, had a complete disregard for the war and Ukraine's energy infrastructure, considering the state – particularly Energoatom – as a source of illicit enrichment.
They embezzled millions upon millions of euros. People in this network received a 10 percent commission on every contract awarded by the state-owned company Energoatom, simply by using their influence and proximity to President Zelensky. This is absolutely scandalous and unacceptable.
RFI: What is Volodymyr Zelensky's responsibility in this scandal?
DK: We are at war. Martial law is in force. We cannot hold elections. Volodymyr Zelensky has been in power since 2019. He had an absolute majority in parliament before the war. This had already led to an enormous concentration of power in his hands. And after the Russian invasion, martial law further accentuated this concentration of power. This has simply destabilised our democratic system of checks and balances in Ukraine and created a sense of absolute impunity.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and I think Zelensky is out of touch with reality. When he travels abroad, he enjoys enormous support from other leaders. I understand why, because he represents the Ukrainian people. But I think he is mistaken and interprets this support as personal support. And I think that if he does not come back to reality now, after these revelations from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Agency for Corruption Prevention, we are heading for big problems.
RFI: Why?
DK: Because this is not only about the embezzlement of Ukrainian taxpayers' money, but also about the potential embezzlement of aid from international partners. For us, for the Ukrainian people, every hryvnia, every euro, every dollar of foreign aid is so important that it must be spent effectively, without any abuse.Because people's lives, soldiers' lives, and the effectiveness of our war efforts depend on it.
Investigations by anti-corruption institutions have shown that there are huge problems with the way Volodymyr Zelensky governs. It depends on who surrounds him, who has access to him. And it seems to me that the president has isolated himself with loyalists who distort reality for him, such as his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, or people like Timur Mindich, and he trusts them.
But they are Volodymyr Zelensky's enemies. They are Ukraine's enemies. They are undermining society's trust in the president, and they are undermining our international partners' trust in Ukraine.
RFI: What can the president do to tackle corruption in Ukraine?
DK: He must stop intimidating the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Agency for Corruption Prevention, as he did this summer. He must let them do their job properly. He must also begin reforming the prosecutor general's office, the national investigation bureau, and the Ukrainian intelligence services, as stipulated in the latest European Union accession report.
The EU is closely monitoring every step of the process within Ukraine's law enforcement agencies, and the measures that Ukraine must take to move closer to the EU are clearly set out.
He must carry out these necessary reforms in the areas of the rule of law and good governance, which are demanded by both the Ukrainian people and our international partners.
This article was adapted from an interview in French by Lila Olkinuora
