Zelenskyy on alleged corruption in President's Office: anti-corruption bodies understand that I'm not involved

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the heads of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies have no questions for him personally and, he claims, they understand that he is not involved in corrupt activities.

Source: Zelenskyy speaking to journalists, as reported by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne

Details: Zelenskyy was commenting on corruption cases involving former representatives of the President's Office, including its former deputy head, Iryna Mudra.

The president said he has no information on these cases beyond what is already publicly known.

Quote: "There was enough detail to dismiss her. I heard, essentially at the same time as everyone else, about certain conversations regarding actions – real or potential. It wouldn't be right to discuss that now. The details that were made public were, in my view, sufficient to dismiss the deputy head and one other person in the department. If further information emerges, we'll respond to that information."

Details: Zelenskyy pointed out that the anti-corruption bodies continue to operate independently, and that the authorities respond to their investigations.

Quote: "They take certain steps – we respond to those steps. If it's a minister and there are grounds to dismiss them, then they're dismissed. If there are things that aren't clear, then we need to wait for further details, for a court verdict."

Details: Commenting on the possibility of a reshuffle in the President's Office, Zelenskyy said that "rotations shouldn't be an end in themselves" and that "there isn't always someone else to replace people with".

The president also said that the heads of the anti-corruption bodies have no questions for him personally.

Quote: "They understand perfectly well that I'm not involved in anything like that. And that matters to me."

Background: On the morning of 19 August, Ukrainska Pravda sources reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were conducting searches as part of a special operation at premises belonging to MP Vadym Stolar and Iryna Mudra. Stolar confirmed that investigative actions were being carried out at his home and said he was cooperating with NABU.

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