 "Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP")
As the Russian invasion nears its fourth winter, Ukraine is being rocked by a major corruption scandal at the heart of its war-battered energy sector.
In just a few days, it has led to the resignation of two ministers and forced President Volodymyr Zelensky to sanction a close ally.
Here is what we know about one of the worst political crises Zelensky has faced since the start of the war in 2022:
Operation Midas
The scandal broke on Monday, when the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) conducted some 70 raids to uncover a “high-level criminal organisation” responsible for embezzling $100 million in the energy sector.
The operation, dubbed “Midas” – after the king from Greek myths who turned everything he touches into gold – led to several arrests. These included a former advisor to the energy minister and an official from the state nuclear operator Energoatom.
The anti-corruption agency then gradually released a series of videos featuring wiretapped conversations of those implicated in the scheme.
Nabu said the graft scheme had forced Energoatom contractors to routinely pay 10 to 15 per cent kickbacks on contracts, to avoid facing payment delays or losing their supplier status.
The suspects, said Nabu, had created a parallel power structure inside the state enterprise overseeing Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, which supply half of the country’s energy.
The money was then laundered through a myriad of shell firms, most of them abroad.
Zelensky under pressure
The biggest shock came with the accusation that an alleged close friend and a former business associate of Zelensky, Timur Mindich, had masterminded the scheme.
He co-owns the production company Kvartal 95, founded by Zelensky when he was a star comedian before entering politics and becoming president in 2019.
According to Nabu, Mindich “controlled” the laundering of embezzled money and its distribution.
The 46-year-old is also suspected of influencing senior government officials, including former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, now Secretary of the Security Council.
Timur Mindich reportedly fled the country shortly before the probe became public.
A source close to Zelensky told AFP he was furious and appalled by the allegations, and fully supported the investigation.
Amid growing criticism, Zelensky pledged transparency, demanding Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk step down on Wednesday. Both ministers resigned shortly after.
Galushchenko, who previously served as energy minister, is accused of having received “personal benefits” in the scheme.
Former deputy prime minister, Oleksiy Chernyshov, is also under investigation.
Grynchuk, Galushchenko’s former deputy who replaced him this year, is not directly implicated at this stage. But Ukrainian media have described her as his close associate. Neither she nor Galushchenko has been formally charged.
The scandal has not yet triggered a strong reaction from the EU, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on Zelensky to take “energetic steps” to counter corruption. Germany is Ukraine’s top European donor.
Eradicating graft is one of the top requirements for Ukraine’s application for EU membership.
Endemic corruption
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has been repeatedly plagued by corruption scandals.
In September 2023, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov resigned over purchases of overpriced uniforms and food for the army.
In April, two defence ministry officials and the director of a defence plant and his deputy were arrested on suspicion of supplying tens of thousands of faulty shells to the army.
And corruption is so deeply rooted in the military recruitment system that in 2023, Zelensky resorted to dismissing all the heads of regional draft offices.
Nevertheless, relations between the presidency and anti-corruption agencies and activists remain strained.
This summer, Zelensky tried to strip independence from the two anti-corruption agencies, Nabu and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo), created a decade ago.
After first mass wartime protests and a backlash from the EU allies, he was forced to backtrack.
Ukraine ranks 105th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2024 corruption index, having moved up from 142nd place 10 years ago.