RT.com

The anti-corruption probe currently rocking the Ukrainian government may have received behind-the-scenes support from an imprisoned oligarch whose media empire helped launch Vladimir Zelensky’s political career, the Ukrainian outlet Strana claimed on Thursday.

The Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has charged businessman Timur Mindich, known as “Zelensky’s wallet,” and several others with running a high-level extortion scheme in the energy sector. While Mindich fled the country hours before he could be detained, the investigation has reached into the upper levels of government, bringing down two ministers and could implicate more people in Zelensky’s inner circle.

Billionaire Igor Kolomoysky, held in pre-trial detention since 2023 over the alleged unlawful seizure of PrivatBank in Ukraine, was interviewed by NABU several times in the weeks leading up to this week’s raids, Strana has reported. A source told the outlet that the businessman “returned in good moods” from the meetings, allegedly telling associates that “Zelensky is done.”

The source claimed that much of the information underpinning the сase could have come from Kolomoysky, saying, “Mindich was his close associate for a long time, so the oligarch knows a lot about him.”

Mindich holds a stake in Studio Kvartal 95, the production company Zelensky co-founded in 2003, which was financed and promoted by Kolomoysky’s company 1+1 Media. Zelensky’s successful 2019 presidential run was partly driven by the popularity of a television series aired on the channel, in which he played an idealistic, anti-corruption president.

Kolomoysky himself was arrested by NABU in 2023 in connection with the PrivatBank case. Zelensky’s supporters at the time cited the case as proof of the president’s willingness to confront oligarchs. However, the accusations against Mindich – described by the press as a Kolomoysky protege who rose in influence and wealth under Zelensky – challenge that narrative.

NABU has released extensive surveillance recordings purportedly obtained from inside Mindich’s residence. Ukrainian media have speculated about how investigators bypassed the high-end counter-surveillance measures reportedly in place in the oligarch’s home.

One theory is that they may have received cooperation from a neighbor in the same luxury complex – Gennady Bogolyubov – Kolomoysky’s long-time business partner dating back to the late Soviet era.