The corruption scandal in Ukraine threatens Zelensky's mission. “I've been waiting for this”

In a statement, the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Combating Corruption (SAP) described Yermak, whom Zelensky fired in November, as “a member of an organized criminal group involved in money laundering [8 mln 900 tys. euro, czyli 37 mln 826 tys. zł] in connection with elite construction investments near Kiev.

The move follows the release of a series of transcripts of telephone conversations that allegedly further implicate national security advisers and close associates of Zelensky in cases involving bribery and abuse of influence, mainly related to the energy and defense sectors, but also to a recently nationalized bank.

— I've been waiting for this — Oleksiy Goncharenko, one of the two opposition MPs who obtained and published the transcripts, tells POLITICO.

– I think that the anti-corruption authorities decided that they had to take action in connection with the publication of the recordings – adds the MP, who is a member of European Solidarity, a pro-European liberal-conservative political party led by former President Petro Poroshenko.

The scandal, as Poroshenko says in an interview with POLITICO, has serious consequences for Ukraine. — Unfortunately, these kinds of wartime corruption scandals create serious problems for the country. They undermine defense capabilities, damage international reputation and are certainly not conducive to European integration, he enumerates.

All defendants in the corruption case deny guilt — whether publicly, during preliminary hearings, or through their lawyers. On Monday in Kiev, in a conversation with journalists, Yermak said: – When the investigation is finished, I will comment on the case. I don't have any residences, I only have the apartment and the car you see.

In a conversation on WhatsApp on Monday, Dmytro Litvin, an adviser to Zelensky, told reporters: – The investigation is still ongoing, so it is too early to make any assessments.

Some lawmakers, including members of Zelenskyy's ruling Servant of the People party, have argued that the investigations simply show the system works. “Partners see that Ukraine has an independent anti-corruption system that fulfills its function,” Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Reuters.

The scandal erupted in November when Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies revealed they were investigating an alleged conspiracy to extort approximately $100 million. (PLN 363 million) bribes from the Ukrainian energy sector and the state nuclear monopoly Energoatom.

The disclosure forced Zelenskiy to order Yermak to resign after investigators from anti-corruption agencies raided the home of the influential adviser, who until his fall was seen by many as practically a co-president.

The furor over these revelations also prompted the hasty departure to Israel of Tymur Mindich, co-owner of Zelensky's film production company, who exercised considerable influence over the government, including over who should be appointed to particular positions. Mindich was charged along with eight other people, including former ministers Herman Halushchenko and Oleksiy Chernyshov. Prosecutors say Halushchenko helped launder bribes and hid millions in foreign banks. According to NABU, he was arrested while trying to escape from the country.

“Leaked conversations show how a small group in Kiev turned the defense of the nation into a lucrative business,” Yulia Mendel, a former Zelensky adviser-turned-critic, wrote in a social media post on Substack.

“They reveal a parallel system of influence, cash flows and asset protection operating alongside — and sometimes within — wartime state institutions,” she said. “A nation that heroically resists imperial aggression should not allow its wartime leadership to degenerate into the same post-Soviet kleptocracy from which it is supposedly escaping.”

Opposition MPs are increasingly questioning what Zelensky could have known — or should have known — about alleged graft schemes and lucrative influence peddling at the heart of his government.

On Tuesday, NABU director Semen Krywonos said that Zelensky himself was not the subject of any investigation. The sitting president of Ukraine cannot legally be the subject of an investigation by law enforcement agencies.

In an interview with POLITICO, Jarosław Jurczyszyn, an MP from the opposition Głos party, said it was disturbing that Zelensky remained silent about the alleged involvement of some of his closest associates in corruption cases.

I find it hard to believe that he had no information about what his close associates were doing and what was happening, but perhaps because of the war he was not paying enough attention to it or felt he had to ignore it while conducting the war effort

– says Jurczyszyn.

Goncharenko, the MP who obtained the transcripts, draws attention to the mentions in the recordings of “Vov” – a diminutive of the name Volodymyr – and how important it was for the conspirators that he remain the head of state.

— Is it possible that he didn't know about some of these corruption machinations? – Goncharenko asks. — I don't know the answer. But I can say that Zelensky is very much involved in micromanagement. So it's hard to imagine that he didn't know what Mindich, Chernyshov, and now allegedly Yermak were doing, he adds.

Goncharenko, who chairs the parliamentary commission of inquiry into corruption, says he has summoned some of Zelensky's former associates to appear before the commission. – We want to interrogate them. That's what we will do on Wednesday, he announces.

Zelensky's defenders say there is no direct evidence linking the president to any alleged illegal activities, but critics like Mendel are skeptical. “This pattern suggests that we are dealing with a leader who either tolerates or is isolated from the circle of loyalists and people associated with oligarchs who treat state resources and positions as personal fiefdoms,” he says.

Zelensky's mission is at risk

The scandal broke out at a time when Ukraine is pushing to speed up the EU accession process. Zelensky called for the country to be admitted next year, a move EU leaders have already deemed unrealistic, given the criteria — including corruption — that Kiev will have to meet before it can join the European community.

— That's a good question [czy afera korupcyjna zaszkodzi staraniom Zełenskiego o włączenie Ukrainy do UE] – says Goncharenko. — On the one hand, it really doesn't help that there are accusations of high-level corruption and allegations against the president's closest associates, he notes.

— At the same time, however, it shows that our anti-corruption bodies are truly independent and can initiate proceedings, which strongly distinguishes us from Russia or Belarus. This proves that our anti-corruption system works, he adds.

Ultimately, the verdict will depend on how the country handles these matters, especially those involving those closest to the president. – The question now is what will happen next and how the situation will develop – he sums up.

Find out more: