A former aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is accused of masterminding a $100 million embezzlement scheme.
Tymur Mindich, once Zelenskyy’s business partner, was identified by Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs as the orchestrator of a scheme involving top officials and Ukraine’s state nuclear power company. Before the scandal, some feared Mindich’s growing influence over Ukraine’s lucrative industries to which he had access because of his ties to Zelenskyy.
Mindich allegedly controlled loyalists who then pressured contractors from Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, and demanded bribes to bypass bureaucratic obstacles. The bribes demanded were reportedly as much as 15%.
Despite his history with Mindich, Zelenskyy was not involved in the investigation. The Ukrainian president also imposed sanctions on his former business partner after the anti-corruption findings emerged.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REMAINS SILENT AS ZELENSKYY’S HUGE CORRUPTION SCANDAL REACHES ZELENSKYY’S INNER CIRCLE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes part in a briefing at the President’s office after a staff meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, on November 7, 2025. (Pavlo Bahmut/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
On November 11, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said a group of individuals, including Mindich, “established a massive corruption scheme to control key state-owned enterprises,” including the country’s state nuclear agency. the Kyiv Independent reported. The Ukrainian News Agency said sources confirmed that law enforcement officers searched properties linked to Mindich on November 10, but he was tipped off and fled.
Mindich remains at large, with Politico reporting that he fled to Israel when the plan unraveled and police targeted him.
“Any effective action against corruption is desperately needed. The inevitability of punishment is necessary,” Zelenskyy said in an evening speech, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in London on Friday, October 24, 2025. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
TOP UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS IN ZELENSKYY GOVERNMENT SUBMIT AGAINST $100 MILLION CORRUPTION SCANDAL
NABU’s 15-month investigation reportedly included 1,000 hours of wiretapping and resulted in 70 raids, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the agency.
“What we heard only as rumors now has some evidence,” activist Tetiana Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Action Center told the Associated Press. “We have long heard that Tymur Mindich is a shadow controller of the energy sector.”
In addition to Mindrich, Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, who was Energy Minister from 2021 to 2025, was also raided, the Kyiv Independent said, citing sources.
On August 18, 2025, flamingo rockets are seen at the secret Fire Point factory in Ukraine. (Efrem Lukatsky, File/AP Photo)
Mindich was co-owner of Zelenskyy’s production company Kvartal 95, something that Shevchuk believes pushed him toward politics. The activist told the AP that Mindich “would never have been in politics, would never have been in a position of power or business without his connection to Zelenskyy, and this magnitude is even worse because it happens in wartime, and it is related to energy infrastructure at a time when Ukrainians do not have electricity in their homes.”
This is not the only NABU investigation focusing on Mindich. The anti-corruption agency is reportedly working on an investigation into the former Zelenskyy associate’s dealings with Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturer, Fire Point. However, NABU has not yet released its findings in that investigation.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
