Head of President's Office tells Zelenskyy that oligarch Kolomoiskyi may be behind corruption scandals in the country

Ukrainska Pravda sources have reported that Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, is persuading Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the corruption issues that have hit the authorities following the Midas investigation may be linked to oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article Mindichgate. What is happening in the government a week after the anti-corruption scandal? (English translation to follow shortly)

Details: Several sources in the government and the Office of the President said that Yermak is telling Zelenskyy that Kolomoiskyi, who has been in Security Service of Ukraine custody for three years, may be behind the problems that have hit the authorities over the past week.

According to sources close to the Office of the President, "finding an enemy to avoid admitting guilt is one of the favourite tactics in the Office".

Kolomoiskyi himself has actively commented on Mindichgate during court hearings, calling Mindich a "scapegoat" and someone "not cut out to be the head of a mafia".

Many sources from political circles told Ukrainska Pravda that the main concern for the authorities now is whether Yermak could face official suspicion during the investigation into the criminal organisation Karlson.

Quote from a source in Zelenskyy's team: "Everyone inside the system understands who really was behind the attack on NABU [National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine] in July.

If that had not started, if they hadn't messed up, if afterwards, instead of calming down, they hadn't gone after Klymenko [head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office], the whole Midas thing would have come out in about a year, not now, and not in this form.

Everything would have been as usual – someone quietly dismissed, someone quietly held accountable and that would have been it.

But because of this attack on NABU, there was no option other than creating such a scandal. So everyone understands who really stirred this mess."

Background:

• On 10 November, NABU reported uncovering a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector and posted audio recordings of conversations between the people involved. Prior to this, Ukrainska Pravda sources said that NABU had conducted searches at the homes of Tymur Mindich and then Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko. Ukrainska Pravda sources also stated that Mindich left Ukraine hours before the searches.
• On 11 November, journalists identified all the individuals implicated in the large-scale investigation into corruption at Energoatom who have been formally notified of suspicion by NABU. An investigative reporting project by Skhemy found that notices of suspicion have been served on Tymur Mindich (referred to as "Karlsson" on the NABU tapes), former adviser to the energy minister Ihor Myroniuk ("Rocket"), Energoatom's executive director for security Dmytro Basov ("Tenor"), Oleksandr Tsukerman ("Sugarman"), Ihor Fursenko ("Roshyk"), Lesia Ustymenko and Liudmyla Zorina.
• Five of the suspects have been detained. Two – Mindich and Tsukerman – have left Ukraine.
• Basov, Myroniuk, Fursenko, Ustymenko and Zorina have been assigned pre-trial restrictions with the option of bail. It later emerged that the High Anti-Corruption Court has received bail payments for Lesia Ustymenko and Liudmyla Zorina, the two back-office employees involved in laundering funds linked to Energoatom.
• On the morning of 12 November, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko announced that Herman Halushchenko had been suspended as justice minister following NABU's high-profile investigation into corruption at Energoatom.
• On 13 November, Zelenskyy enacted a decision by the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) to impose sanctions against businessman Tymur Mindich – co-owner of Kvartal 95 Studio and associate of the president – and businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman.

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