"But just as striking is the fact that an investigation into energy-sector kickbacks at the highest levels of government and business is happening at all. This is in many ways a victory for Ukrainian democracy, and for a civil society that, since the 2014 revolution on the Maidan, has worked tirelessly to hold its government to account, even during wartime."
"Now nobody-not even the president himself-is authorized to stop the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine from carrying out its mission on behalf of the Ukrainian people. Andriy Yermak, a very close ally of Zelensky's and, until last week, the president's point person for the peace negotiations, hasn't been officially charged, but he was forced to step down as the investigation closed in on his possible connection to the case."
On November 28 Ukrainian law enforcement visited the apartment of the head of the president's office to investigate him for graft. An investigation into energy-sector kickbacks at the highest levels of government and business is underway. The scandal has strained the presidency while the United States pressures Ukraine over concessions to Russia. Parliament briefly passed a law in July limiting anti-corruption independence and President Volodymyr Zelensky initially signed it, then reversed the change under public pressure. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine now retains authority to pursue cases without presidential interference, and a close presidential aide stepped down as investigators focused on possible links to the case. The current treatment of corruption probes is markedly different from pre-Maidan years, reflecting stronger investigative resolve and active civil society oversight.
Read at The Atlantic
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