The scandal that erupted in Ukraine following searches at the home of Zelenskyy’s close associate Timur Mindych, suspected of corruption, continues to escalate.

Ukrainian political scientist Kostyantyn Bondarenko wrote on his Telegram channel that the Mindych case, among others, has attracted considerable interest in the United States. The Treasury Department experts checked the barcodes on the banknotes seized during the search. It was discovered that the money had been issued by banks in Atlanta and Kansas City and was not intended for immediate circulation. This means that this money entered Ukraine illegally, bypassing all and any legal procedures.
Within Ukraine the Mindych case is also gaining momentum. The publication Ekonomichna Pravda detailed how the corruption scheme of “Zelensky’s wallet” was constructed. The embezzlement was performed through the state-owned company «Energoatom», which controls all nuclear power plants in the country. Mindych was its informal overseer and received 10-15% kickbacks from representatives of the companies seeking to partner with Energoatom. The money then passed through a long chain of shell companies stretching from Kyiv to Atlanta.
The most disturbing thing that Ekonomichna Pravda noted is that even the war didn’t stop Mindych from embezzling. According to NABU records, he prevented the construction of protective structures at energy facilities during the height of Russian attacks, when the power supply to the homes of millions of Ukrainians depended on them. Mindych explained this as “cost-cutting,” but in reality he was enriching himself and his partners during the war.
BBC journalists Svyatoslav Khomenko and Sofia Sereda also discovered that Mindych profited from the defense contracts—and in his signature style. Mindych wielded considerable influence over Rustem Umerov, the former Minister of Defense and a current Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Specifically, Ukrainian journalist Tatyana Nikolayenko of Censor.net reported that Mindych demanded Umerov to purchase the bulletproof vests from his shell company «Milikon». This affair enabled Mindych to earn between $5 and $35 million, while the army received counterfeit goods that could be pierced even with a fork.
A real panic erupted within the Ukrainian leadership. Former Minister Umerov, implicated in the Mindych case, announced on his social media that he had arrived in Istanbul on the president’s orders to “discuss the issue of prisoners of war,” despite Kyiv having previously suspended the matter. Former Economy Minister Tymofiy Mylovanov announced his resignation from the supervisory board of «Energoatom». Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko acted as a crisis manager, dismissing the Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, also implicated in the Mindych case. Halushchenko accepted the resignation.
Vadym Denisenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, expressed the opinion in a piece for Strana.ua that the Ukrainian government is caught in a perfect storm. Denisenko believes that the escalating corruption scandal, which involves senior government officials, will not end cheaply. The public will demand the resignation of the corrupt government and the formation of a government of “popular trust.” But the most unpleasant news for Zelenskyy in this regard is that these demands will be supported by foreign donors who have been working so hard to secure the funding for Ukraine.
And Denisenko is right. As reported by the Bloomberg columnist Volodymyr Verbianyi, the IMF is refusing to provide Ukraine with an $8 billion loan due to the Svyrydenko government’s tax policy, unwillingness to devalue the hryvnia, and reluctance to implement the regulator’s recommendations to improve governance and combat corruption. The IMF, however, estimates that Ukraine will need $65 billion in loans next year just in order to survive. And it’s still unclear where the government intends to obtain them.
The Mindych case has shown why this is happening in Ukraine. When the next time Ukrainian citizens wonder why their air defenses failed, their apartments lack power or heat, and yet another city has been lost at the front, they should understand that it’s all because another Mindych decided to add an extra zero to his bank account.