Ukraine’s latest corruption scandal involves Zelensky’s inner circle – National & International News – THU 13Nov2025
Ukraine’s latest corruption scandal hits close to home for Zelensky
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, numerous corruption scandals have emerged in Ukraine. The latest may be the most significant of Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency and implicates several figures in his inner circle. The latest scandal has to do with the energy sector, which has taken a pounding over the last several years from Russian bombs. Contractors performing work on critical infrastructure are accused of providing kickbacks to some of Zelensky’s closest allies. The total embezzlement amounted to about $100 million, between 10% and 15% of the value of the contracts. The investigation took 15 month and involved over 1,000 hours of wiretaps and dozens of property raids.
Revelations of energy sector corruption are particularly damaging for Zelensky as Ukrainians face another hard winter. Russia has repeatedly targeted energy infrastructure, leading to outages and heating failures. Electricity is now being rationed in parts of the country.
Earlier this year, Zelensky’s government stripped the independence of the two agencies that uncovered this scheme: the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP). Zelensky only reversed his decision after massive protests and urging from his Western allies.
Corruption in Zelensky’s inner circle
At least two senior ministers in Zelensky’s government are implicated in this scandal: Justice Minister (and former Energy Minister) German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk. Galushchenko and Grynchuk have now resigned.
Businessman Timur Mindich is possibly the most relevant figure and the one with the deepest ties to Zelensky. Mindich introduced Zelensky to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, a major financial backer of Zelensky’s 2019 presidential campaign. Kolomoisky himself is now jailed awaiting trial on embezzlement and fraud charges from a separate 2023 case.
Mindich has been described as the ringleader of the energy sector embezzlement scheme. However, he fled to Israel before he could be charged and arrested. NABU is looking into who might have tipped him off.
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