Ukraine’s Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko has been fired following corruption allegations brought against him by the country’s anti-corruption police NABU. This was announced by Prime Minister Julia Svyrydenko. Meanwhile, a Swedish name has emerged in the ongoing corruption scandal.
“This morning, an extraordinary government meeting was held. It was decided to relieve Herman Halushchenko from performing his duties as Justice Minister. The government decided to assign the responsibility for performing the duties of the Justice Minister to the Deputy Justice Minister for European Integration, Liudmyla Sugak,” writes Prime Minister Julia Svyrydenko in a dry and concise post on Telegram this morning.
The Justice Minister, who has been regularly seen with President Zelensky during his tours around Europe to seek more funding for Ukraine, is therefore immediately dismissed.
“Che Guevara”
Halushchenko is one of several officials caught in the Ukrainian anti-corruption police NABU’s “Operation Midas,” an extensive investigation into irregularities in the Ukrainian energy and defense sectors. His home was the subject of a search on Monday as a result of this.
At the center of the scandal is the state-owned energy company Energoatom. Halushchenko, a former energy minister, is suspected, along with several others, of pocketing money in connection with procurement.
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It involves the equivalent of about one billion Swedish kronor that has been “laundered” through the criminal syndicate that has controlled the operations, according to NABU.
Another name revealed on Tuesday is former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov. According to NABU, Chernyshov has referred to himself as “Che Guevara” in internal chat communication with his accomplices. He and his wife are alleged to have pocketed multi-million amounts.
Former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is also implicated by the Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutor’s office SAPO. In social media posts, Umerov denies the allegations, but Ukrainian media dryly note that on the same day his name appeared in the investigation, he chose to travel to Turkey.
“Karlsson”
Through secret coercive measures, NABU has secured a large amount of chat communication and over a thousand hours of phone calls. Those involved in the scandal have used different code names for each other.
The former Deputy Prime Minister, as mentioned, has called himself “Che Guevara.” Other code names in the investigation are “Sugarman” and “The Treasurer.”
A fourth name that appears is “Karlsson.” This, according to the authorities, is the Swedish name used by businessman and President Zelensky’s close friend Timur Mindich.
Zelensky and Mindich previously ran the production company Kvartal 95 together, which gave Zelensky the celebrity status that enabled him to win the 2019 presidential election. Now he is pointed out as the mastermind behind the corruption scandal.
Early on Monday morning, the anti-corruption police conducted a search at Mindich’s home. He himself was not at home at the time. According to some reports, he left the country just hours before the search, while others claim that he has been hiding abroad for several months. Likely in Austria.
The corruption among the Ukrainian government officials has been ongoing simultaneously as Ukraine has received staggering amounts of support from the international community to fight against Russia. Not least 108 billion kronor from Sweden. Additional multi-billion amounts have been promised in future Swedish support.
Ukrainian Anger
The Ukrainian anti-corruption police are continuously publishing information about the investigation on social media; including on their Facebook page. There, the Ukrainian people can see pictures from the raids, listen to secret audio recordings, and read about things that the Ukrainian government previously attempted to silence earlier this year.
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The reactions in the comment fields are a wave of anger against the Ukrainian authorities. “People are dying from bombs, there is no electricity, we cannot cook warm meals for our children, elderly, pensioners, and mothers with young children… and they are feeding themselves with public funds,” writes an upset woman.
“The death penalty is not enough for them! How many boys have not died?” asks a man. “Can’t NABU promote them to storm Pokrovsk?” suggests another.
However, most seem to understand that several of those responsible, including Timur Mindich, have managed to flee the country with their loot. And that they are now hiding in the EU, which provides them with a sanctuary from justice.
But it’s not just anger among the comments. Many are also grateful to the police and prosecutors who tirelessly work to expose the extensive corruption.
“Thank you for your work,” writes a woman. “Thank you for fighting! Thank you for the truth,” writes another.
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