Ukraine energy sector corruption scandal: Justice minister suspended

Ukraine Justice Minister German Galushchenko was suspended in a corruption probe into state energy company Energoatom that includes Zelenskyy ally Timur Mindich.

KYIV — Ukraine’s justice minister was suspended Wednesday in an investigation into a $100 million kickback scandal in the country’s energy sector that has fueled public anger and reached the heart of the country's wartime leadership.

German Galushchenko was removed from office one day after anti-corruption authorities said they exposed a scheme that allegedly involves a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and an ex-deputy prime minister nicknamed “Che Guevara.”

The probe threatened a high-profile confrontation over the long-running issue of graft in Ukraine as it battles to maintain Western support for its fight against Russia, which has battered its neighbor's energy infrastructure with waves of attacks.

Five people have been arrested and another seven were placed under suspicion, according to a statement Tuesday from Ukraine’s National Anticorruption Bureau, the NABU, and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, SAPO.

The “high-level criminal organization” saw current and former officials, and businesspeople, allegedly receive benefits and launder money through the country’s state energy company, Energoatom, authorities said.