Ukraine rocked by wartime graft scandal as Zelenskyy fires ministers
New Delhi, Nov 17: Ukraine has been shaken by what the Financial Times describes as the biggest corruption scandal of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidency, after investigators unveiled a cache of evidence ranging from cash-stuffed duffel bags to a Kyiv apartment fitted with a golden toilet.
The disclosures, revealed over the past week, have plunged the government into crisis at a pivotal moment in the war. According to the FT, intelligence agencies released audio tapes, photographs and documents alleging that senior officials orchestrated kickbacks on construction projects meant to shield power stations from Russian missile strikes, at a time when citizens face daily blackouts.
The material follows a 15-month probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
The revelations have ignited public anger.
“How the president’s friends robbed the country in wartime,” ran a headline on Ukrainska Pravda, cited by the FT. Zelenskyy, under mounting pressure, pivoted sharply on Wednesday, demanding the resignations of justice minister German Galushchenko and energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, both of whom were later removed from the national security council.
The president also imposed sanctions on businessman Timur Mindich, described by Nabu as the “co-organiser” of the alleged scheme, accused of laundering some $100mn through what detectives called a “laundry room.” Mindich, a former business partner of Zelenskyy, fled Ukraine hours before the operation after being tipped off, the FT reported. Another longtime Zelenskyy associate, ex–deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, has been charged with illegal enrichment involving more than $1.2mn in cash. He denies wrongdoing, as does Galushchenko. Hrynchuk has not been directly implicated.
The FT notes that investigators have conducted more than 70 searches and arrested five suspects, alleging that officials and business figures forced Energoatom suppliers to pay 10–15% kickbacks on contracts. Some of the diverted funds, according to Nabu, came from projects intended to protect substations from Russian drones and missiles.
The scandal has exposed political fault lines at a time when civil society and opposition groups have largely muted criticism of the government because of the war. Zelenskyy has been accused of moving sluggishly. “Very slow, and very weak,” said Daria Kaleniuk of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, quoted by the FT. Critics have also questioned why the president attempted earlier this year to place Nabu and Sapo under the prosecutor-general, moves abandoned after rare wartime street protests.
While allies argue that the investigation itself shows the resilience of Ukraine’s post-Maidan anti-corruption architecture, analysts warn the political fallout could escalate if the probe edges closer to the president’s office. “We cannot afford for the Ukrainian president… to lose his remnants of legitimacy during the war,” investment banker Serhiy Fursa wrote in comments cited by the FT.
A parliamentary commission will question law enforcement leaders next week, while Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has ordered sweeping audits of state energy and defence companies. Yet, as the FT reports, the risk of further revelations looms large, and with it, the danger of deepening instability for a country still fighting for survival.
