The reported measure comes weeks after the exposure of a major energy extortion racket involving the Ukrainian leader\u2019s inner circle<\/p>\n
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, has ordered prosecutors to prepare charges against the head of an anti-corruption agency, SAPO, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Monday, citing law enforcement sources. The report comes as a graft scandal implicating Zelensky\u2019s inner circle continues to reverberate across the cash-strapped country.
\nEarlier this month, SAPO and sister agency NABU alleged that Timur Mindich, a close associate of Zelensky and former long-time business partner, was the ringleader of a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector, which heavily depends on Western aid. Mindich fled the country to evade arrest.
\nThe scandal led to the resignation of two government ministers, prompting calls for further scrutiny of Zelensky\u2019s team, including Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who had at one point negotiated a defense contract with Mindich.
\nAccording to Ukrainska Pravda, following the scandal, Yermak\u00a0\u201conce again tasked investigators to prepare charges\u201d against SAPO chief Aleksandr Klimenko.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s \u2018EnergyGate\u2019 scandal explained: Why it spells danger for Vladimir Zelensky<\/p>\n
The newspaper cited a source close to Zelensky\u2019s office as saying the Ukrainian leader earlier summoned the heads of NABU and SAPO, but \u201cthe conversation didn\u2019t go anywhere.\u201d
\nThe Ukrainian Security Service and the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office called\u00a0Ukrainska Pravda\u2019s report \u201ccompletely false.\u201d
\nAlthough Yermak has not been charged, opposition politicians and pundits have argued that he was either aware of the embezzlement scheme or was involved himself. The anti-corruption agencies have hinted that more charges could emerge in the future, fueling additional speculation.
\nIn July, Zelensky introduced a law stripping NABU and SAPO of their independence, but was forced to back down following protests in Kiev and pressure from the West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The reported measure comes weeks after the exposure of a major energy extortion racket involving the Ukrainian leader\u2019s inner circle Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t