The anti-corruption authorities of Ukraine launched a new operation this Wednesday for an alleged case of political corruption that, on this occasion, also reaches the Presidential Office of Volodymyr Zelensky. The existence of a criminal organization and the diversion of funds linked to the media operation "Midas" are being investigated.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have stated that this is "a special operation to dismantle a criminal organization that operated under the leadership of current and former deputies, with the participation of high-ranking officials from the Office of the President of Ukraine and other individuals."
Within the operation "Forrest Gump," named so due to the recordings of phone taps made on several suspects, searches have been carried out in premises linked to the deputy head of Zelensky's office, Irina Mudra, who has already been dismissed from her position.
Among the implicated parliamentarians, some Ukrainian media point to Vadim Stolar, a real estate magnate and member of the parliamentary group Restoration of Ukraine, composed of former members of the banned party Platform for Life. Officials from the Ministry of Justice and representatives from the banking sector are also included.
Investigators maintain that this case is directly related to the operation "Midas," as it would have also been structured to launder and cover the 150 million hryvnias (2.8 million euros) bail of former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, using the state bank Sense Bank and a network of shell companies.
At the head of this alleged criminal network would be Timur Mindich, currently a fugitive and co-owner of Kvartal 95, the production company created alongside President Zelensky during his time as a comedian, before his leap into politics. The scandal erupts while Kiev tries to convince its international allies of its commitment to the fight against corruption, following several episodes that have affected the Ministry of Defense.
According to the investigation, Mindich led a scheme that demanded bribes totaling 90 million euros from contractors of Energoatom, the state operator of Ukraine's nuclear power plants, in exchange for contracts aimed at strengthening the protection and security of the facilities amid the context of Russian attacks.
Diverse people from the closest environment to Zelensky have come under suspicion, among them his influential former chief of staff, Andri Yermak, who, after spending barely four days in prison in May, was released after paying a bail of 140 million hryvnias (2.7 million euros).
Yermak was arrested as part of the "Dynasty" operation, a derivative of the "Midas" case, amid suspicions that he was part of an organized group dedicated to laundering up to 8.9 million euros from those bribes in the energy sector through luxury housing construction projects on the outskirts of Kiev.