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The Trump administration has so far remained silent on a widening corruption scandal inside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government and inner circle.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on a $100 million corruption probe announced this week that has already prompted the resignations of senior Ukrainian officials.
Corruption has long been a friction point in U.S.–Ukraine relations. In 2019, the Trump administration paused roughly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, citing concerns about government corruption. At the same time, Trump’s associates sought information on Democratic rival Joe Biden, who served as vice president under Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Biden’s son Hunter held a $50,000-per-month board seat at the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. As vice president, Joe Biden had threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees unless Ukraine dismissed prosecutor Viktor Shokin, whom Western governments accused of failing to pursue corruption cases.
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Shokin later claimed he was fired because he was investigating Burisma, a claim U.S. and European officials dispute.
President Donald Trump for months has been working to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, which the U.S. has provided with around $175 billion in aid since the start of the war in 2022.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) — said they spent 15 months on “Operation Midas,” a probe that included roughly 1,000 hours of wiretaps. Investigators say the inquiry uncovered a kickback scheme in which contractors for the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom paid 10-15% bribes, totaling about $100 million, to keep government contracts.
According to prosecutors, the alleged ringleader was Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Zelenskyy and co-owner of his former production studio, as well as an advisor to Justice Minister German Galushchenko. Authorities say Galushchenko, who served as energy minister until July, helped facilitate the money laundering operation and acted under Mindich’s influence.
Mindich fled Ukraine early Monday, hours before investigators raided his home. Both Galushchenko and his successor, Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk, said they would resign at Zelenskyy’s request. Five suspects have been arrested, and seven others placed under official suspicion, prosecutors said.
In a statement, NABU alleged that the criminal network transferred funds to “an unnamed former deputy prime minister of Ukraine,” identified internally by the codename Che Guevara. Investigators said about $1.2 million was traced to that individual.
“Using their official connections in the ministry and the state-owned company,” the suspects “ensured control over personnel decisions, procurement processes, and financial flows,” Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies said.
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Zelenskyy has not been directly implicated, but the revelations cast a shadow over a president who built his career on promises to root out graft. He publicly backed the investigation, saying Monday night that “any effective action against corruption is very necessary” and that “the inevitability of punishment is necessary.”
Earlier this year, Zelenskyy faced backlash after proposing tighter presidential oversight of Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption agencies, a plan he later withdrew.
Before entering politics, the former comedian often joked about his country’s entrenched corruption.
“Is it possible to become president and not steal?” he once quipped. “It’s a rhetorical question, as no one has tried so far.” His 2019 election campaign centered on dismantling the oligarch-dominated political system and increasing transparency.
Now, nearly seven years later — with no election planned amid wartime conditions — some Ukrainians view him as increasingly reliant on a small inner circle consolidating its own power and wielding it with limited checks.
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Investigators say some of the laundered money had been earmarked for equipment meant to protect energy facilities from Russian missile attacks. Ukraine continues to face rolling blackouts, with many residents limited to five to eight hours of electricity per day as Russian forces target power infrastructure heading into winter.
Last week, the European Commission praised Ukraine’s “significant efforts” to combat corruption but warned that “limited progress” could jeopardize its bid to join the European Union. The commission also cautioned that reports of political pressure on anti-corruption groups “cast doubt on Ukraine’s commitment” and urged Kyiv to “prevent any backsliding on its notable reform achievements.”
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