Zelenskyy sacks two ministers as bribery scandal engulfs war-torn Ukraine

Amid growing public outrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked two ministers accused of being involved in a large-scale bribery scheme. Zelenskyy on Wednesday announced that Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk could no longer remain in their jobs amid the corruption scandal that has hit the war-torn nation’s energy sector.

He also called for personal sanctions against his friend and former business partner Timur Mindich, the scheme’s alleged organiser. In his Wednesday statement, the Ukrainian president acknowledged the people’s anger.

“There must be maximum integrity in the energy sector, in absolutely all processes. I support every investigation carried out by law enforcement and anti-corruption officials. This is an absolutely clear and consistent position for everyone," Zelenskyy said. He pledged to ensure accountability for those who broke the law.

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“Right now, it is extremely difficult for everyone in Ukraine – enduring power outages, Russian strikes and losses. It is absolutely unacceptable that, amid all this, there are also some [corruption] schemes in the energy sector," he added.

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The scandal is now turning into a major political crisis for the Ukrainian leader. Anti-corruption activists, opposition politicians and army veterans have called on Zelenskyy to take decisive action, even if that means sacking or jailing his close aides or people who are personally known to him.

The latest firings in Zelenskyy’s government came after a 15-month-long investigation by Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau (Nabu) into the nuclear state energy company Energoatom. The chief subject in the case is Mindich, a businessman who co-founded Kvartal 95, Zelenskyy’s media production company.

When the case came to light, Mindich reportedly fled abroad, with Ukrainian media outlets suggesting that he is in Israel. He was previously close to Zelenskyy, although sources say they have had little communication since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Mindich was one of the seven suspects involved in a $100 million corruption scheme.

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Under the scheme, Energoatom’s counterparties were forced to pay kickbacks of 10-15 per cent to avoid having payments for services blocked or losing their supplier status, the bureau said. As the scandal garnered public condemnation, Grynchuk and Haluschenko submitted their resignation at the request of the Ukrainian leader on Wednesday.

However, both denied wrongdoing. The justice minister said his suspension from office was “appropriate” and vowed to defend himself, after one of his former advisers was directly implicated in the scandal. Meanwhile, earlier this week, Nabu released audio recordings of the alleged participants discussing bribes and using old-school code names. Haluschenko – Ukraine’s former energy minister – is given the moniker “Professor”. Mindich is referred to as “Karlson”. The matter is still under investigation.

With inputs from agencies.