Ukraine is in a difficult situation: the front is collapsing, the power grid is damaged. Now, a circle of corrupt civil servants who have contacts with high-ranking officials have been exposed. Investigators are starting to clean up.
In a major corruption scandal in Ukraine whose traces trace back to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the court has imposed pre-trial detention on the first defendant. A suspect must remain in custody until January 8 unless he posts bail of 95 million hryvnia (1.94 million euros). Public radio station Suspilne reported this from a courtroom in Kyiv.
Large bribes
The man is said to be involved in hiding large bribes from Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear company, Energoatom. A woman must also be detained for 60 days; possible bail was set at 25 million hryvnia. He is also said to have participated in the unofficial count of this group of corrupt politicians and officials. A total of five people have been arrested so far.
For Ukraine, this is the biggest corruption case uncovered in more than three and a half years of Russia’s war of aggression. This puts the country in a difficult situation. Russian troops are advancing on the front lines in the east and south. The power grid was badly damaged by constant Russian airstrikes. This means that Ukrainians are threatened with repeated power outages and interruptions in heat and water supplies in winter.
Two ministerial resignations
On Wednesday evening, under pressure from Zelensky, Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and her predecessor Herman Halushchenko, the latter serving as justice minister, announced their resignations. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced that she would request her second dismissal in parliament.
Defendants linked to Atomenergo are said to have enriched themselves through public contracts for the construction of power plant protection devices from air attacks. They are said to have asked for a bribe from the company of 10 to 15 percent of the order amount. Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators assume that the funds raised are equivalent to more than 80 million euros.
Zelensky’s confidant is suspected of being the mastermind
President Zelensky publicly promised comprehensive information. However, investigators named his old confidant and former TV business partner, Timur Minditsch, as the mastermind behind the bribery network. Minditsch traveled abroad shortly before the investigation became known, as did the other suspects.
This puts the president under domestic political pressure. In terms of foreign policy, the confidence of many countries supporting Ukraine in its defensive battle against Russia with money and weaponry is at stake.
