Ukrainian Corruption Scandal Likely Tip of Iceberg

"Zelenskyy's Wallet" flees the country in revelations of president's inner circle taking kickbacks "to protect Ukraine's energy sector" during war with Russia.

I knew that a story like this would eventually erupt in Ukraine and even make the headlines of the New York Times and the Financial Times.

Our mainstream media is totally corrupt and millions of people in the West are still suffering from too much cognitive dissonance to recognize that their governments are totally corrupt. Nevertheless, the guys who have long been running Ukraine are so outrageously corrupt that it was only a matter of time before they overplayed their hand so crassly that it couldn’t go unnoticed, especially with Ukraine’s dictator, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, becoming increasingly unpopular.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) (stood up by the Obama administration to facilitate USAID to Ukraine) claims it has uncovered evidence that senior figures in Zelenskyy’s inner circle took $100 million of kickbacks on construction projects to protect power stations from Russian missile attacks.

At the center of the investigation is Zelenskyy’s friend and business associate, Timur Mindich. Investigators characterize Mindich as the “co-organizer” of the alleged scheme, and that approximately $100 million of illicit funds were siphoned through his office.

“He controlled the work of the so-called ‘laundry room’, where criminally-obtained funds were laundered,” a NABU spokesman said.

Mindich — co-owner of production company Kvartal 95 Studio, which Zelenskyy co-founded — fled Ukraine to Israel the day before the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) launched raids.

Kvartal 95, in association with 1+1 Media Group, produced the wildly popular Servant of the People television show, starring Zelenskyy as a Ukrainian schoolteacher who runs for president on an anti-corruption platform. Servant of the People ran for three seasons between 2015 to 2019, and its popularity greatly helped Zelenskky to win the 2019 presidential election.

1+1 Media Group was owned by Ukrainian oligarch and Israeli citizen, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, who is purportedly in pre-trial detention in Ukraine on charges of money laundering and contract murder.

According to a report in Politico, Timur Mindich was tipped off about the forthcoming raid of his office and apartment, and fled to Israel. In what appears to be part political theater, NABU has released images of his opulent apartment in Kiev, replete with a golden toilet and bidet with a matching golden toilet brush.

Yesterday (November 15) The Times of Israel published an interesting profile of Mindich (see Zelensky associate at crux of Ukrainian corruption case said to have fled to Israel).

As I have been reporting on this newsletter since 2022, Ukraine has long been regarded as one of the most corrupt countries on earth. While the country’s median household income is around $4,000 per year, a small group of oligarchs have amassed billions through their acquisitions of energy, agriculture, defense, and mining assets.

Some of these oligarchs, such as Victor Pinchuk and Mykola Zlochevsky, used their wealth to establish close ties with the Clinton and Biden families. Pinchuk was the largest single donor to the Clinton Foundation. Zlochevsky was the front man of the Burisma gas company, of which Hunter Biden was a richly paid board member. The true majority owner was Ihor Kolomoyskyi. It wouldn’t surprise me if he also slips away (if he hasn’t already) before his case goes to trial.

This $100 million (small potatoes) scandal that is making MSM headlines is likely the tip of the iceberg, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the scandal is at least partly political theater to give the poor and beleaguered Ukrainian people the impression that their National Anti-Corruption Bureau is actually doing its job.

Because ordinary Ukrainians are increasingly suffering from power outages due to Russian attacks on their energy infrastructure, they will likely find it especially distasteful that Zelenskky’s inner circle has been siphoning funds that were supposed to bolster energy infrastructure defenses. Thus, the scandal may serve as an excuse to get rid of Zelenskky, who has already lost much of the mystique he once enjoyed in our deranged West.

Lord knows how many billions have been stolen by these jolly fellows and their cronies in the U.S. government.