Orban accuses Zelenskyy’s team of embezzling European funds
13 November 15:47
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has commented on the latest corruption scandal in Ukraine and criticized European support for Kyiv.
Orban wrote about this on Facebook.
According to him, there is a “military mafia associated with President Zelenskyy in Ukraine.”
“It is into this chaos that Brussels wants to pour money from European taxpayers. What is not shot at the front will be stolen by the war mafia. This is insane,” the Hungarian prime minister said.
He added that he had no plans to send the Hungarian people’s money to Ukraine and emphasized that the government had approved payments to Hungarian families.
“And after that, we do not want financial demands and blackmail from the Ukrainian president. It’s time for Brussels to finally realize where their money is going,” Orban said.
At the same time, the Hungarian prime minister found himself at the center of a corruption scandal in his own country this summer. One of the MPs published a photo of Orban’s alleged estate with a palm garden and a personal zoo. Orban himself said that it was actually a farm for his parents, and that it was not completed.
Orbán’s rival in the election, Péter Magyar, promised that if he wins, the State Audit Office will investigate the assets that members and representatives of the government and their relatives have received over the past 20 years. According to opinion polls, Orban will lose the elections to be held in April.
What is known about the Midas case
On the morning of November 10, NABU detectives searched the home of businessman Tymur Mindich, co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, who is said to be a close friend of President Zelensky. Investigative actions also took place at the home of the suspended Minister of Justice Herman Halushchenko.
However, Mindic, one of the main defendants in the case, left Ukraine a few hours before the searches. As part of the investigation, the NABU released excerpts of audio recordings about corruption in the energy sector.
According to the investigation, Energoatom operated a “barrier” scheme: contractors were forced to pay 10-15% of the contract amount as kickbacks. In case of refusal, they threatened to block payments or exclude them from the list of suppliers.
According to the NABU, the funds were legalized through a back office in the center of Kyiv, where about $100 million passed through. The office belonged to the family of former MP and current Russian Senator Andrii Derkach.
Five people have already been detained in the case, and a number of them have been notified of suspicion. The investigators include:
- Timur Mindich – businessman and co-founder of Kvartal 95;
- Ihor Myroniuk, former advisor to the Minister of Energy;
- Dmytro Basov, former executive director for security at Energoatom;
- Four employees of the “back office” for money laundering: Oleksandr Zukerman, Ihor Fursenko, Lesia Ustymenko, and Liudmyla Zorina.
The defendants used codenames: Mindich – “Carlson”, Myroniuk – “Rocket”, Basov – “Tenor”, Zuckerman – “Sugarman”, Fursenko – “Rashik”.
Also involved in the case are Herman Halushchenko (“Professor”) and former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov (“Che Guevara”), who have been notified of suspicion.
