by Andrea Nicastro
Fired by four deputy ministers (including those for defense and infrastructure): bribes for food for soldiers and generators. The deputy chief of staff and the prosecutor: luxury cars and holidays in Sardinia
From our correspondent
Kyiv – The first real anti-corruption purge since the war began has taken place in Ukraine. In his speech last evening, President Volodymir Zelensky said that decisions had already been made about various members of the executive branch, at various ministerial levels in the central government structures, but also in regional bodies and in the police forces. The snowball threatens to become an avalanche. On Sunday, anti-corruption police arrested Deputy Infrastructure Minister Vasyl Lozynsky, who was caught collecting a $400,000 bribe to facilitate the signing of contracts to repair the electricity system.
The generator business
Lozynsky would also be investigated
for buying very useful generators to survive the blackouts caused by Russian missile attacks, but paid at inflated prices in September. The deputy minister denies the allegations. He is now relieved of his duties with handcuffs on his wrists. The last few minutes saw the forced resignations of Vyacheslav Negoda and Ivan Lukerya, respectively number two in the Ministries of Communications and Territories and Development. Also yesterday, Deputy State Attorney General Oleksiy Symonenko, who spoke for the very expensive summer holidays in Spain, resigned, as did the number two in the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko. The media had for months included his name in the scent of removal, despite Kyrylo having been part of the Ukrainian President’s magic circle since the days of his acting and producing career.
containers and wagons
Tymoshenko has denied any wrongdoing, but the memory comes from articles questioning him over an alleged scandal in September involving 22 containers, 389 railroad cars and 220 humanitarian aid trucks destined for the Zaporizhia region and itself had vanished into thin air. At the time of calculation, the value was over 7 million euros, but seems to be underestimated. Tymoshenko was in charge of relations with the governorates, and some of the press called him the godfather of the regions. The deputy head of the presidential office loved luxury cars and showed up in the electric Porsche Taycan, which he says he borrowed from a friend.
The cost of an egg
Articles in the press speak of a shipment of food intended for soldiers, paid at ridiculously high prices to justify, for example, the inclusion of a bribe or bribes. In stores, an egg costs 7 hryvnia, while the Ministry of Defense bought it wholesale for 17 hryvnia. The same goes for potatoes. The explanation this time comes from the supplier, who denies the bribery and speaks of a simple accounting error. A mistake worth hundreds of thousands of euros. Meanwhile, Viasheslav Shapovalov, deputy defense minister, resigned.
Stop officials from traveling
Until the investigation is completed (and the interior cleaned up), the country’s doors are closed to officials. Suspicion that there is a desire to ban the escape and export of illegal capital before the investigation is completed. President Zelenskyy signed an urgent decree banning the exit of almost all of the country’s public figures: ministers, deputies, directors-general, governors, mayors and their deputies, directors of TV channels, judges. Ready to replace the heads of five key regions with auxiliary volumes such as Zaporizhzhya, Sumi, Kherson and others.
Old Plague
Ukraine was first in Europe in terms of levels of corruption, and its path to the European Union has always depended on solving the problem through new laws and a more autonomous judiciary. Nabu itself, the anti-corruption office demanded by the donor countries to be completely independent of other state powers, has not yet found a president. War and international aid have raised donor expectations of cleanliness. While the purge is underway, the Zelenskyi government is trying to fix this problem as well. It’s all about the social announcement for the President of Ukraine. Last night, his phone-in-hand selfie speech ended with a warning to all Ukrainians who handle public funds: I want to make it clear that there will be no return to old habits.
Jan 24, 2023 (change Jan 24, 2023 | 1:08 p.m.)
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