Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, November 13, ordered sanctions on a former business associate who has become central to a corruption scandal that has generated public outrage in a country worn down by nearly four years of war. The decision came only a day after Zelensky asked two cabinet ministers to resign as part of efforts to distance himself from allies implicated in a major money-laundering scheme.
Anti-corruption authorities investigating the case said the scheme involved the diversion of $100 million from Ukraine’s energy sector, an industry critically damaged by sustained Russian strikes that have left millions facing severe electricity shortages. Investigators identified Timur Mindich, a 46-year-old businessman long known in Ukraine for his close personal and professional ties to Zelensky, as the architect of the fraud.
Zelensky’s office released a decree imposing what it described as “personal special economic” sanctions on Mindich and another businessman, Oleksandr Tsukermann. The order freezes their assets, revokes their state honours, and places strict limits on their business activities and international travel. Both Mindich and Tsukermann hold Israeli citizenship and are believed to have already left Ukraine.
Zelensky, in a statement following his call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said only that “Ukraine will do everything necessary to strengthen partners’ trust,” without directly addressing the scandal. The allegations, particularly Mindich’s involvement, carry the risk of political damage. Ukrainian media have repeatedly described Mindich as a long-time friend of the president, a connection that Western diplomats in Kyiv say could complicate the government’s efforts to demonstrate accountability.
A European diplomat speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said Ukraine’s government “needs to be cleaned of corrupt elements,” adding that the case nonetheless demonstrated the increasing effectiveness of Ukraine’s anti-graft institutions. Germany, Kyiv’s largest donor within the European Union, said it expected the government to deepen reforms aimed at curbing corruption. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a persistent critic of Ukraine, seized on the development, declaring that “a Ukrainian war mafia network with a thousand ties to President Zelensky has been exposed.”
The International Monetary Fund, which Ukraine is courting for a new loan programme, also weighed in, saying that eliminating corruption remained a core requirement for international financial support as Kyiv continues to rely heavily on foreign assistance to sustain its economy and war effort.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Zelensky was enraged by the revelations and had not communicated with Mindich since the scandal broke earlier in the week. Mindich previously co-owned the entertainment company Kvartal 95, which Zelensky established during his years as a comedian and actor. “What is there to talk about? He can go to hell,” the official said, speaking anonymously. The official added that Zelensky was “stunned when he found out what was happening” and moved quickly to dismiss both the justice and energy ministers on Wednesday.
“The president has taken the toughest steps he could within his powers,” the official said, emphasising that the investigation would continue and that further actions had not been ruled out.
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