MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. The Kiev regime has turned into an international corruption brigade for pumping money through Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"Ukrainian patriots," she said ironically, commenting on reports that senior Ukrainian government officials were involved in the corruption scheme along with businessmen. "Now it is clear why it is all the same for [Vladimir] Zelensky whether it be a vysyvanka (Ukrainian traditional clothing which contains elements of Ukrainian ethnic embroidery - TASS) or a kosovorotka (a Russian peasant shirt with collar fastening at side - TASS). Because it is an international brigade for pumping money via Ukraine."
"Now it is clear why the regime is banning the Ukrainians from speaking and learning Russian, reading Russian classics, why they are rewriting Ukraine’s history. Because educated people will ask questions and international corruption, with Ukraine being its very heart, needs silence that can be achieved through neutralizing the nation’s conscience," she stated.
On November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), both independent from Zelensky’s office, announced an investigation into a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed Operation Midas. Searches were conducted at the Energoatom energy company and the residences of entrepreneur Timur Mindich and the now suspended Justice Minister German Galushchenko, who served as the country’s energy minister at the time of the events that are being looked into. The investigation found that participants in the scheme had laundered around $100 million. NABU also started to release recordings of conversations from Mindich’s apartment, which revealed discussions of corrupt practices.
On November 11, along with Mindich, charges in the case were brought against former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of National Unity Alexey Chernyshov, who is also seen as a member of Zelensky’s inner circle. However, Mindich, who some have called Zelensky’s "wallet," left the country a few hours before searches started, and is now in Israel. On November 17, reports indicated that Andrey Yermak might appear in the Mindich case files under the pseudonym Ali Baba.
The corruption scandal has entailed a profound crisis in the Ukrainian authorities. The parliament’s work was blocked as a number of lawmakers, including those with the ruling Servant of the People party, demanded Yermark’s resignation over possible involvement in corruption schemes. On November 28, Yermak’s apartment and office were searched by anti-corruption officers. On the same day, Zelensky dismissed him.