Zelensky aide orders probe into anti-corruption agency chief – media
The reported measure comes weeks after the exposure of a major energy extortion racket involving the Ukrainian leader’s inner circle
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, has ordered prosecutors to prepare charges against the head of an anti-corruption agency, SAPO, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Monday, citing law enforcement sources. The report comes as a graft scandal implicating Zelensky’s inner circle continues to reverberate across the cash-strapped country.
Earlier this month, SAPO and sister agency NABU alleged that Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelensky and former long-time business partner, was the ringleader of a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector, which heavily depends on Western aid. Mindich fled the country to evade arrest.
The scandal led to the resignation of two government ministers, prompting calls for further scrutiny of Zelensky’s team, including Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who had at one point negotiated a defense contract with Mindich.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, following the scandal, Yermak “once again tasked investigators to prepare charges” against SAPO chief Aleksandr Klimenko.
The newspaper cited a source close to Zelensky’s office as saying the Ukrainian leader earlier summoned the heads of NABU and SAPO, but “the conversation didn’t go anywhere.”
The Ukrainian Security Service and the Prosecutor General’s Office called Ukrainska Pravda’s report “completely false.”
Although Yermak has not been charged, opposition politicians and pundits have argued that he was either aware of the embezzlement scheme or was involved himself. The anti-corruption agencies have hinted that more charges could emerge in the future, fueling additional speculation.
In July, Zelensky introduced a law stripping NABU and SAPO of their independence, but was forced to back down following protests in Kiev and pressure from the West.
