Yermak tells Zelenskyy Kolomoisky may be behind Mindich corruption scandal — media
The authorities are currently most concerned about whether the head of the President’s Office could receive an official notice of suspicion during the investigation into the criminal activities of Tymur Mindich, Ukrainska Pravda reports. (Photo: president.gov.ua)
Andriy Yermak, head of the president’s office, has told
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the corruption scandal surrounding Tymur
Mindich may have been provoked by oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, who has been held
in Ukraine’s SBU Security Service detention center for the past three years, Ukrainska Pravda
reported, citing unnamed sources in the government and the presidential office.
“This is one of the office’s favorite tactics,” one source
told the outlet. “Find an enemy, so you don’t have to admit guilt.”
According to the report, this approach was also used by
Andrii Smyrnov, deputy head of the president’s office, who was accused of
illicit enrichment. Until formal charges were brought against him, Smyrnov
continued to insist the case was a political hit job.
Former deputy head Rostyslav Shurma followed the same
pattern, the report says. After he was accused of involvement in the possible
theft of 300 million hryvnias in budget funds paid to his brother’s company
operating in Russian-occupied territory, he allegedly tried to portray the case
as “revenge by Kolomoisky.”
Kolomoisky, meanwhile, has already weighed in on the
so-called “Mindichgate.” During a court hearing, he referred to Tymur Mindich —
Zelenskyy’s close friend and longtime business partner — as “a scapegoat,”
saying he “doesn’t have what it takes to be a mafia boss.”
Political sources told Ukrainska Pravda the president’s
circle is now most concerned about whether Yermak himself might be formally
named as a suspect in the ongoing investigation into Mindich’s alleged criminal
activity.
“Everyone inside the system understands who actually
spearheaded the July crackdown on NABU,” a member of Zelenskyy’s team told the
outlet, referring to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
“If they hadn’t started that, if they hadn’t screwed up, if
they hadn’t gone after SAPO [the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s
Office] chief Oleksandr Klymenko after that instead of calming down — the whole
Midas thing would have come to light maybe a year from now, and not in this
form,” the source said.
He added that under different circumstances, it would have
played out the usual way: someone quietly fired, someone else quietly charged,
and the situation resolved. “But because of that crackdown,” the source said,
“NABU had no other choice but to go public with the scandal.”
“So now everyone gets it,” he concluded. “Everyone knows who
really cooked this mess up.”
Operation Midas: key developments
On Nov. 10, NABU detectives raided the home of businessman
Tymur Mindich, the office of former Energy Minister — and current Justice
Minister — Herman Halushchenko, and the state-run company Energoatom. Mindich
had left Ukraine just hours earlier.
According to NABU, Operation Midas uncovered the activities of
a “high-level organized criminal group” allegedly led by “a businessman widely
known in the media.” Investigators say the suspects set up an extensive
kickback scheme to exert influence over Energoatom, demanding 10–15% in bribes
from the company’s contractors.
Five individuals were detained and placed in custody with
the option of bail. Among them were former Energy Ministry adviser Ihor
Myroniuk, Energoatom’s chief of security Dmytro Basov, and employees of the
so-called “back office,” which investigators say was used to launder money.
On Nov. 13, journalist Oleh Novikov reported that bail had
been posted for two of the suspects: Lesia Ustymenko and Liudmyla Zorina.
President Zelenskyy said all those found guilty must face
justice. He also imposed sanctions on businessmen Mindich and Oleksandr
Zukerman.
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