The head of the Geneva delegation, Andrij Jermak, is said to have ordered investigations against the top corruption hunter – a very dangerous signal in the current situation.
Bojan Stula / ch media
While the world’s eyes are on the Geneva peace negotiations, the conflict between President Zelensky’s power circle and the anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine is heating up. At the center of all things is Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s head of the presidential office and head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation in Geneva.
Negative headlines from home: Andrij Jermak speaks to the media in Geneva about the ongoing peace negotiations.Image: EPA
According to information from the online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, Yermak has instructed the security authorities under his command to prepare an investigation against Oleksandr Klimenko. Klimenko is the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo), which is involved in the so-called Midas investigations.
The Midas affair concerns an allegedly widespread corruption network in the Ukrainian energy sector, which reaches into the highest government circles. At the beginning of November, the National Anti-Corruption Authority (NABU) published audio recordings that were said to document conversations between several high-ranking actors. The suspects include businessman Tymur Minditsch, a former partner in Volodymyr Zelensky’s production company Kvartal 95, and several executives from the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom. Some of the accused were arrested, others like Minditsch fled abroad.
Tymur Minditsch was a former partner in Zelensky’s entertainment production company Kvartal 95. Image: keystone
Klimenko, who is supporting the Nabu investigation, publicly accused the presidential office of putting pressure on the anti-corruption bodies. Alluding to Yermak, he said: “Ali Baba meets with the security authorities and gives instructions to prosecute Nabu investigators and Sapo prosecutors. This is not a normal situation.”
Sources within the security apparatus report that President Zelenskyj called a meeting with the heads of Nabu and Sapo after the first Midas results were published, but that the conversation “did not lead to any result.” Shortly afterwards, according to the newspaper report, Yermak again ordered that a case be prepared against Klimenko.
These revelations are causing considerable unrest in the president’s circle. Several advisors have already advised Zelensky to separate from Yermak, reports Ukrainska Pravda. Instead, Zelenskyj sent his closest confidant to Geneva to lead negotiations with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In mid-November, the President had at least imposed sanctions against Minditsch and other people involved.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio.Image: keystone
The escalating power struggle between the anti-corruption authorities and the presidential office now threatens to further undermine the government’s credibility in the fight against nepotism and abuse of office – especially during the ongoing peace talks in Switzerland. This is a sensitive signal to Ukraine’s Western partners, who expect consistent reforms and tangible progress in the fight against corruption from Kiev. (aargauerzeitung.ch)