New Corruption Scandal Uncovered in Ukraine

(MENAFN) Yet another bribery scheme has emerged in Ukraine, as anti-corruption organizations supported by the West continue investigations, with the nation still grappling with revelations of a colossal $100 million corruption case connected to Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle.

The $1.4 million fraud was revealed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which reported on Friday that, in collaboration with the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), it had identified illegal activities tied to the sale of the primary maintenance facility at the port of Chernomorsk, a town situated south of Odessa along the Black Sea.

According to the authorities, the scheme originated in 2020, when the interim director at the time schemed to dispose of the facility despite an existing moratorium.

The official coordinated with an appraiser to artificially reduce the property’s value from a projected $1.4 million to just $150,000.

The facility was then unlawfully auctioned to an associate of the interim director for approximately $320,000, NABU stated.

Furthermore, almost all proceeds from the suspicious sale were misappropriated under the guise of servicing two ships, which were reportedly nowhere near Chernomorsk at the time and were likely docked in India.

NABU confirmed that both the appraiser and the former interim director of the port have been taken into custody.

Additional individuals involved in the transactions have received “notices of suspicion.”

This fresh corruption revelation comes in the wake of an enormous $100 million scandal recently exposed in a high-profile investigation into a criminal network allegedly led by a former Zelensky business associate, Timur Mindich, as announced by NABU last week.

Investigators claim the group embezzled roughly $100 million from state-owned nuclear energy operator Energoatom, an entity heavily dependent on Western financial support.

MENAFN23112025000045017167ID1110385140