Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies launched an operation this Wednesday for a new case of political corruption, which this time also involves the Presidential Office of Volodymyr Zelensky, for alleged criminal organization and embezzlement of money, which is also related to the high-profile “Midas” operation.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have reported that this is “a special operation to dismantle a criminal organization operating under the leadership of current and former deputies, with the participation of senior officials from the Office of the President of Ukraine and other individuals.”
As part of the “Forrest Gump” operation, which refers to the recordings of wiretaps carried out on some of the suspects, searches have been conducted at the offices of Zelensky’s deputy chief, Irina Mudra, who has already been dismissed.
Among the deputies implicated, some Ukrainian media mention Vadim Stolar, a real estate magnate from the parliamentary group Restoration of Ukraine, formed by former members of the banned party Platform for Life, as well as officials from the Ministry of Justice and banking representatives.
The investigation indicates that this case is directly related to the “Midas” operation as it was also allegedly organized to launder and pay the 150 million hryvnias (2.8 million euros) bail of former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko through the state bank Sense Bank and shell companies.
Read more Israel attacks southern Lebanon areas again despite the ceasefire
At the head of this criminal scheme is Timur Mindich, a fugitive and co-owner of Kvartal 95, the production company founded alongside President Zelensky during his comedian phase before entering politics. Everything broke out at a time when Kyiv was trying to convince its partners that it is fighting corruption after several cases within the Defense Ministry.
Mindich acted as the top manager of a network that collected bribes worth 90 million euros from contractors of Energoatom, the state operator of the country’s nuclear plants, to protect and strengthen the security of the facilities amid Russian attacks.
Several people from Zelensky’s closest circle have been implicated in these events, including his influential former Chief of Staff, Andri Yermak, who after spending barely four days in prison during May, was released after paying a bail of 140 million hryvnias (2.7 million euros).
Yermak was arrested as part of the “Dynasty” operation, a spin-off of the “Midas” case, on suspicions of being part of an organized group to launder funds of up to 8.9 million euros from these bribes in the energy sector through the construction of luxury homes on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Read more Trump’s reasons for postponing tariffs against Canada for three days
