The reported measure comes two weeks into one of Ukraine’s largest graft scandals
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrey Yermak has ordered prosecutors to prepare charges against the head of the anti-corruption agency SAPO, the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported on Monday, citing sources in law enforcement. The report comes as the explosive graft scandal implicating Zelensky’s inner circle continues to reverberate across the cash-strapped country.
Earlier this month, SAPO and its sister agency NABU alleged that Timur Mindich, Zelensky’s close associate 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 had “once again tasked investigators to prepare charges” against SAPO chief Aleksandr Klimenko.
The newspaper cited a source close to Zelensky’s office as saying that Zelensky had 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 have denied Ukrainska Pravda’s report as “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 after protests in Kiev and pressure from the West.
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