Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Wednesday that her party’s office had been raided overnight—following the announcement of a sweeping corruption probe by the country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). The raid comes amid growing public concern over political corruption in Ukraine, which has affected several high-level government officials in recent months.
Tymoshenko, a leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution, served as Ukraine’s prime minister for two terms between 2005 and 2010. She also ran against President Volodymyr Zelensky in the 2019 presidential elections and has clashed with his administration occasionally.
NABU accused an unnamed party leader, reportedly Tymoshenko, of “offering illicit benefits” to members of parliament in exchange for loyal votes. A pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
The agency published a video showing officers in the office opening envelopes stuffed with U.S. dollars in front of a woman with blonde hair in Tymoshenko’s trademark crown braid, whose face was blurred out.
In response, Tymoshenko described the raid as a “PR stunt” and a “political hit job.” She claimed that more than 30 armed officers entered the party headquarters without presenting documents, effectively seizing the building and taking staff “hostage.” According to Tymoshenko, work phones, documents, and personal financial statements were confiscated. She categorically rejected all accusations, calling them “absurd.”
The raid is the latest in a series of corruption scandals that has rocked Ukraine in recent months. In November Kyiv’s justice and energy ministers had resigned amid a sweeping corruption scandal, allegedly involving the laundering of as much as $100 million (€86.4 million).
Despite long-standing corruption in Ukraine, Brussels continues to push for the country’s European Union accession.
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