The corruption scandal engulfing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration is widening, as the case of Rostyslav Shurma—his former top economic advisor and deputy head of the Presidential Office—takes on an increasingly international dimension.
Shurma is now actively trying to prevent Ukrainian investigators from accessing data on his phone, seized by German authorities in a July raid, and pursuing legal action, claiming the case is a form of “political persecution.” His efforts come amid growing scrutiny of corruption within Zelensky’s inner circle, but Shurma’s case stands out for its cross-border implications and the involvement of foreign law enforcement.
Shurma, who oversaw Ukraine’s economy and energy sector, fled the country amid investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Together with his brother Oleh, he remains a central figure in one of the most significant corruption cases tied to Zelensky’s team.
In mid-July, NABU detectives, in cooperation with German law enforcement, carried out a search at Shurma’s residence in suburban Munich. Members of parliament revealed that on the morning of July 15th, Shurma personally phoned a high-ranking official from the president’s office to report that investigators had seized his phone during the raid. German media also confirmed the operation, noting that Bavarian authorities acted on a legal assistance request from NABU. The involvement of German police is particularly notable, as Berlin is known to only approve such measures after rigorous legal scrutiny.
The search reportedly came just as the scandal surrounding another high-ranking figure suspected of corruption, Energy Minister Oleksii Chernyshov, had begun to subside. For Zelensky, the raid marked a breaking point. A week later, he accused NABU and SAPO of “ineffectiveness” and signed legislation curtailing their independence, a move widely seen as an attempt to rein in agencies investigating his closest associates.
The Shurma brothers have long been tied to questionable dealings. Journalists previously revealed that the Ukrainian state paid for electricity generated by Oleh Shurma’s solar power plants located in Russian-occupied territories. From July 2022 to July 2023 alone, these companies collected more than 8 million euros through a state-owned enterprise. NABU soon opened an investigation into these payments, placing both brothers under scrutiny. Despite this, they fled Ukraine before a case was made against them. Rostyslav cited his status as the father of three young children to secure a border exemption, while his brother Oleh did the same after the birth of his third child.
Both men now reside abroad, Rostyslav in Germany and Oleh in Austria, avoiding accountability while maintaining ties to Ukraine’s economic structures. In fact, despite his resignation, Rostyslav Shurma still sits on the supervisory board of Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz, underscoring his enduring influence. He even attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on July 10–11th, just days before German law enforcement searched his residence.
What once seemed like a domestic scandal has now spilled across borders, entangling European governments in Ukraine’s corruption battles. As Zelensky faces criticism for undermining the very institutions tasked with combating graft, the Shurma case has become emblematic of how deeply entrenched corruption remains at the highest levels of power in Ukraine. The investigation into the case remains ongoing, with no formal charges filed to date.
