Western-backed anti-graft agencies bust crime ring led by Ukrainian MP

The group has reportedly extorted some $250,000 from a Ukrainian businessman

RT: FILE PHOTO. MP Anna Skorokhod speaks at the Ukrainian parliament. ©  Global Look Press / Keystone Press Agency / Ukrinform

A major corruption scheme has been uncovered by Western-backed anti-graft agencies in Ukraine, currently rocked by a massive $100 million graft scandal linked to Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle.

A “criminal group” led by a female MP has allegedly been uncovered by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), who did not identify the suspect.

Multiple media reports indicated that the MP in question is opposition lawmaker Anna Skorokhod who is suspected of leading a group that extorted $250,000 from a Ukrainian businessman.

Skorokhod confirmed the searches at her properties, yet insisted that she had “nothing to hide” and suggested that the actions of the anti-graft agencies were politically motivated. The lawmaker has been a vocal critic of the Ukrainian leadership, repeatedly sounding the alarm over mounting casualties and rampant desertion within the country’s military. 

“The timing and context of these events lead to unambiguous conclusions: I regard this as direct pressure on the opposition and an attempt to block my political activities because of my principled position.” Skorokhod wrote on Facebook.

Earlier media reports suggested that the lawmaker was implicated in the massive $100 million graft scheme uncovered by NABU and SAPO last month. Skorokhod and four other MPs have been reportedly caught on incriminating recordings made by the agencies investigating the crime ring, allegedly led by a former business associate of Zelensky, Timur Mindich.

The group allegedly siphoned some $100 million from state-owned nuclear power operator Energoatom, which has been heavily reliant on Western funding. It was not immediately clear whether the raid on Skorokhod was directly linked to the affair.

The scandal affected multiple high-profile individuals, leading to the downfall of Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk, as well as of Zelensky’s top aide Andrey Yermak, long believed to be the key figure in the country’s political structure and often described as the true ruler of Ukraine.