 "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday imposed sanctions on a former business associate accused of masterminding a major corruption scandal that has triggered public outrage in a country worn down by nearly four years of war.
According to AFP, the move against Zelenskyy’s alleged friend came a day after he asked two ministers to resign, in what observers see as an effort to distance himself from allies implicated in a massive money-laundering scheme.
The scheme allegedly involved the embezzlement of $100 million from Ukraine’s energy sector, already devastated by Russian strikes that have caused widespread power outages, according to anti-corruption authorities.
Investigators have identified Timur Mindich, a 46-year-old businessman with close ties to Zelenskyy, as the mastermind behind the fraud, which has added to growing political pressure on the Ukrainian leader.
Zelenskyy’s office published a decree imposing “personal special economic” sanctions on Mindich and another businessman, Oleksandr Tsukermann.
It ordered their assets to be frozen and their state awards revoked, and imposed restrictions on their travel and business activities.
Both men are also citizens of Israel and are believed to have left Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said “Ukraine will do everything necessary to strengthen partners’ trust”, after a call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, without explicitly mentioning the scandal.
Donors urge reform
The involvement of Mindich — described by Ukrainian media as a close friend of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — threatens to politically damage the wartime leader at a crucial moment.
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View AllA European diplomat in Kyiv, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the Ukrainian government must be “cleaned of corrupt elements,” while noting that the scandal also reflected the growing strength of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions.
Germany, Ukraine’s largest EU donor, reiterated its expectation that Kyiv step up efforts to combat corruption.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a vocal critic of Zelenskyy, claimed that “a Ukrainian war mafia network with a thousand ties to President Zelensky has been exposed.”
The International Monetary Fund, from which Kyiv is seeking a new loan, also weighed in, stressing that eliminating corruption remains a “central piece of reform for the donor community.”
‘He can go to hell’
A senior Ukranian official told AFP that Zelenskyy was furious and had not spoken to Mindich since the scandal came to light this week.
Mindich co-owned the production company Kvartal 95, founded by Zelensky when he was a star comedian.
“What is there to talk about? He can go to hell,” AFP quoted the official as saying about Mindich, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that Zelensky was “stunned when he found out what was happening”.
Zelenskyy fired his justice and energy ministers on Wednesday over the scheme.
“The president has taken the toughest steps he could within his powers,” the official said.
With inputs from agencies