Fugitive Zelensky-linked extortion suspect kept dossiers on officials – investigators
The criminal network allegedly overseen by Ukrainian businessman and long-time ally of Vladimir Zelensky, Timur Mindich, had access to confidential information on dozens of Ukrainian officials, lawmakers, journalists, and security personnel, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has reported.
Mindich fled Ukraine just hours before his home was raided earlier this month amid a sweeping corruption probe that has implicated cabinet-level officials and shaken the Zelensky administration.
Appearing before the parliamentary anti-corruption committee on Tuesday, NABU director Semyon Krivonos and chief detective Aleksandr Abakumov detailed the extent to which the group had infiltrated state institutions.
According to Abakumov, investigators discovered 527 dossiers maintained by the alleged ring, noting that the sensitive personal information they contained could potentially be used as leverage. The records included files on 15 NABU personnel, among them three detectives directly involved in the Mindich case. There were also profiles of 16 members of the Verkhovna Rada, including the head of the anti-corruption committee, 18 serving or former ministers and deputy ministers, ten journalists, and nine officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Abakumov said.
NABU believes the database was compiled with the assistance of compromised officials inside Ukrainian law enforcement bodies.
Krivonos said the investigation is advancing rapidly and that additional disclosures are expected soon. He rejected media claims that NABU is withholding materials for “geopolitical reasons,” amid reports that Washington is pressuring Zelensky to accept a compromise peace plan with Russia.
“We are not releasing only those materials that are being deeply studied to establish all facts,” he insisted.
NABU and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office were established after the 2014 coup in Kiev as Western-designed institutions intended to operate independently of the Ukrainian government. Earlier this year, Zelensky attempted to place both agencies under the Prosecutor General’s Office, but reversed course following outcry from foreign donors.
