ALBAWABA - The wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Olena Zelenska, is reportedly accused of being involved in the latest corruption scandal that targeted key officials and politicians in Kyiv.
Ukraine's corruption scandal:
Ukraine announced a massive corruption case, also referred to as "Mindich-gate", targeting the inner circle of Zelensky, including Timur Mindich, an old friend and business partner of the Ukrainian president, who is likely the ringleader, but he managed to flee Kyiv hours before investigators raided his house.
Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau (NABU) announced on November 10 carrying out a large-scale operation in the energy sector involving Energoatom, which directs three nuclear power plants supplying over half of the country's electricity, The Guardian reported.
NABU detailed that several people allegedly received kickbacks of 10-15% from Energoatom's commercial partners. If these suppliers failed to give money, they were removed from a list of approved counter-parties or not reimbursed for services already given. It added that about $100 million was received in this way.
Who is involved in the corruption case?
Key officials are linked to the case, and some were arrested by the NABU investigators, including Ukraine's former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk.
Businessman Timur Mindich, who co-founded Kvartal 95, the media production company with Zelensky before he became president, has likely fled to Israel before being caught by NABU.
Is Zelensky's wife involved in the corruption case?
First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, was accused on Sunday of being involved in the corruption case by Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexander Dubinsky.
On December 7, Dubinsky claimed via his Telegram channel that Olena appears on the Mindich tapes, which are material evidence in Ukraine's corruption case. "There is Olena Zelenska in Mindich's films. I was deciding something on my payments," Dubinsky posted as reported by Russian media outlet, IZ Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pauses while addressing guests with his wife, Olena Zelenska, at the National Archives in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2023. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
However, the official didn't provide any evidence to defend his accusations, nor did he clarify the source of the information, which is a clear sign that his accusations against Olena Zelenska are baseless and incorrect.
Since the war between Ukraine and Russia, Zelensky's family, including his wife, has been a main target of the Russian agenda, with many rumors emerging from time to time claiming that they are using EU and US money to buy real estate or fancy cars. However, the claims were false.
