German government notes reports of corruption, remains committed to helping Ukraine

BERLIN - The German government is concerned about recent reports of a major corruption scandal in Ukraine, but this will not affect Berlin's aid to Kiev, spokesman Stefan Cornelius said.

„Yes, we are concerned about these reports of suspected corruption. It is good that the Ukrainian government has promised complete transparency. It is also good that it stands behind the anti-corruption agency. This is exactly what we expected.“ Cornelius said, adding that the area in question, „receives considerable support from Germany“ - the energy sector is meant.

Asked whether this would affect German payments, such as support to Kiev in the energy sector, the German government spokesman replied in the negative. „No, this will not affect German payments. But we can certainly say that we are in close contact with the Ukrainian government, including Volodymyr Zelensky.“ Cornelius said.

He stressed that „the German government will follow developments very closely.“ „We will examine developments in this particular case and take appropriate action if necessary. At the moment, we believe that the Ukrainian government will clarify the situation and the anti-corruption agency will investigate the case and resolve it transparently.“ the spokesman concluded.

In the meantime, the Ukrainian leadership has reacted forcefully: president Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the dismissal or suspension of some ministers who have been directly or indirectly linked to the scandal and promised that anyone involved will be held accountable. An investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has brought allegations of hundreds of millions of dollars in commissions and bribes, raising serious questions about the oversight of strategic businesses at a time when Ukraine faces an external threat, AP reported.

In mid-November, a major scandal concerning an alleged systemic corruption scheme in the Ukrainian energy sector came to international attention. According to published information, the NABU-led investigation identified suspected large-scale bribery practices linked in particular to public procurement and supply to the state-owned nuclear operator Energoatom.

NABU identifies businessman as mastermind of suspicious scheme Tymura Mindich, a long-time business partner and close associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky; Ukrainian sources say Mindich left Ukraine shortly before the raids and remains at large.

The media and investigators also point to Mindich's links to several companies, which, according to the findings, are also mentioned in the context of domestic production of defence systems - including references to a manufacturer code-named as the creator of the long-range prototype „Flamingo“, for the production of which crowdfunding collections were organised in the Czech Republic (one of which was symbolically named „Dana 1“). These links are now being investigated by investigators in connection with allegations of manipulation and procurement.

gnews.cz - GH