On the eve of an important summit in which Ukraine wants to shore up its candidacy for the European Union, President Volodimir Zelenski's campaign against corruption continues, a scourge whose eradication is an essential condition to enter the European club. Yesterday, Wednesday, the Ukrainian authorities carried out several searches in the homes of prominent businessmen and politicians.
The most striking performance was carried out in the house of the oligarch Íhor Kolomoiski, who was once the richest man in Ukraine and who was an ally of Zelensky. The current president, who was a famous comedic actor professionally, became known as a public figure pushed in part by the Kolomoiski media, who also played an important role in his rise to the presidency in 2019.
During his election campaign, one of Zelensky's promises was to fight corruption. In 2021 he also launched an initiative for the oligarchs to stop influencing the media and politics. That included Kolomoiski, with whom the president had already distanced himself.
According to Ukraínskaya Pravda , in the oligarch's house, in the city of Dnipro, the police were following the trail of possible financial crimes yesterday.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported, for its part, that it had discovered a scheme to embezzle more than one billion dollars from the largest Ukrainian oil company, Ukrnafta, and its main refinery, Ukrtatnafta, of which Kolomoiski had had shares. .
David Arakhamia, who chairs the parliamentary group of Servant of the People, Zelensky's party, in the Rada (parliament), assured on Telegram that the Kyiv government is determined to eliminate corruption in Ukraine even though it is going through the worst moment in its history since its independence due to the conflict with Russia. “The country will change during the war. If someone is not ready to change, then the state itself will go and help them to change, ”he warned.
The strong hand against corruption is a good letter of introduction before the largest landing in Ukraine of European politicians.
Corruption is a chronic disease in Ukraine. In 2021, Ukraine ranked 122 out of 180 in the NGO Transparency International's corruption perception index.
The goal of joining the 27 has always been seen as a process that will take years. But pushed by the Russian intervention in the country, Brussels granted him candidate status in 2022.
During the summit, this Friday, February 3, Zelenski is expected to meet with the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
Beyond the search at Kolomoiski's home, the SBU said that "dozens" of actions were carried out yesterday against corrupt officials, Russian agents or individuals accused of endangering national security. The target is targeting the "enemy within," said its boss Vasyl Maliuk. "Any criminal who has the audacity to hurt Ukraine, especially in wartime, must clearly understand that we are going to handcuff him," he said on Telegram.
Authorities also carried out a search of the home of a senior Kyiv Tax Service official linked to an investigation into shares valued at $1.4 million. And another record related to the investigation of a former Defense Ministry purchasing manager suspected of spending the equivalent of $2.7 million to buy 3,000 shoddy vests.
The Government also announced the replacement of the management team of the Customs Service.
With these actions, "a public warning" is issued to those who exercised great influence before the conflict with Russia and have lost control of power due to the start of hostilities, political scientist Volodimir Fesenko reflected on Facebook.
The house of Arsén Avákov, former Minister of the Interior, was also searched in connection with the helicopter crash that on January 18 killed 14 people, including the minister of the branch, Denís Monastirski. Avakov himself said authorities were investigating the purchase of the Airbus helicopter model that crashed six years ago, but "nothing relevant was found."
All of these corruption probes come a week after Zelensky launched the biggest shakeup of the administration by firing or forcing the resignation of a dozen top officials, including a deputy defense minister over his role in a priced contract. overpriced to buy food for soldiers.
