Just prior to last weekend’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s acting president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAPO cracked down again on Zelenskyy’s close associates. On Dec. 27, the Verkhovna Rada was raided and the offices and homes of five legislators were searched. The five are accused of receiving illicit payments—at its peak, around $15,000/month for each of them—over the last three years.
NABU reported: “NABU and SAPO, following an undercover operation, exposed an organized criminal group that included current members of parliament.” After the search, criminal charges were filed. Ukrainian media identify the ringleader as Yury Kisel, deputy chair of Zelensky’s Servant of the People faction in the Rada, and report that NABU has been recording his office for the last two years. It is thought that key recordings include Kisel’s discussions with Sergey Shefir, who is thought to have taken over the graft and kickback schemes from Timur Mindich, after his recent flight from Ukraine. Shefir was a co-founder of Zelenskyy’s former comedy studio and Zelenskyy’s first chief of staff.
