Investigators accused him of masterminding a $100 million corruption scheme. Timur Minditch, who is close to Volodymyr Zelensky, allegedly took advantage of his “special relationship with the Ukrainian president” for his criminal activities. These accusations represent a turning point in a massive corruption scandal rocking the country’s energy sector, and an ongoing deadlock within Ukraine’s government.
Timur Minditch is one of the owners of the audiovisual production company Kvartal 95, founded by Volodymyr Zelensky, who was a star comedian in Ukraine before entering politics.
“Mr Minditch exercised control over the accumulation, distribution and legalization of funds originating from criminal acts in Ukraine’s energy sector,” a prosecutor from the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) told the court.
The current Minister of Justice, German Galushchenko, who was in charge of Energy for four years, was accused by SAPO of receiving “personal benefits” from Mr Minditch in exchange for his control over financial flows in the energy sector.
Five people were arrested, seven charged
On Monday, the National Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU) announced that it had uncovered a system of corruption involving $100 million in laundered funds. Five people were arrested and seven charged.
The agency, an independent agency like SAPO, carried out a series of major searches on the same day, following a 15-month investigation. According to Ukrainian media, the houses of German Galushchenko and Timur Minditch were among them. Oleksander Abakumov, head of NABU’s investigative team, told state television that Volodymyr Zelensky’s relatives had left the country not long before.
Allegations of embezzlement in the energy sector, which has also come under heavy attack from Russia, have caused anger among the Ukrainian population. And eradicating corruption is one of the main conditions for a country’s membership in the European Union (EU). In July, Volodymyr Zelensky came under heavy criticism from Ukrainian and Brussels public opinion when he tried to place NABU and SAPO under government control.
