Corruption Is Slowly Engulfing Zelensky and His Allies

Kyiv is keen to speed up EU accession talks and is preparing to bring top European leaders together to show force against those blocking the move. But the case of these opponents is growing stronger as more and more reports emerge about possible corruption within Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration.

Justice Minister German Galushchenko was suspended from his post on Wednesday morning amid a corruption investigation into the country’s energy sector. This was just two days after anti-corruption agencies announced their probe into a “large-scale” corruption scheme in the country’s energy sector, which is said to have taken place while Galushchenko was energy minister. The investigation is linked to money laundering of as much as $100 million (€86.4 million) through an office in Kyiv.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the suspension followed an “extraordinary session of the government.” Galushchenko welcomed the decision on social media, saying “suspension during the investigation is a civilised and correct scenario” and that “I will defend myself in the legal sphere and prove my position.”

Journalist Tim White “can’t understand why it’s taken two days” to remove Galushchenko from his post following the launch of the corruption investigation, saying that while “he’s not been named as a suspect … his position’s clearly untenable until the case is over.”

Ukrainian professor of politics Yuliya Bidenko agreed that the suspension is “a very small step considering the scale of the storm surrounding the suspected corruption in Ukraine’s energy and reconstruction sector.” The National Anti-Corruption Bureau said on Monday that 70 searches had been conducted after a 15-month investigation, as public anger grew over allegations that funds were siphoned from the energy industry at a time of widespread power shortages.

Deputy Justice Minister for European Integration Issues Lyudmila Suhak is temporarily filling in Galushchenko’s duties.