Legal difficulties in using frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan of 140 billion euros are now compounded by suspicions regarding how this money might be used. This is reported by La Repubblica.
The embezzlement of state funds in the energy sector amounting to over one hundred million dollars raises significant concerns in Europe.
During the Eurogroup meeting on Wednesday, November 12, where the tools to be used for financing Ukrainian resistance over the next two years were discussed again, several finance ministers from different countries repeatedly mentioned the corruption case "Midas."
Moreover, the corruption scandal in Ukraine erupted against the backdrop of the latest report from the European Commission on candidate countries for EU membership, which was presented last week. It contains a clear assessment that "limited progress has been made in the fight against corruption in Ukraine."
The report also mentions the temporary suspension in July of the independence of anti-corruption bodies, NABU and SAP, which are currently handling the case of the embezzlement of one hundred million dollars of state funds.
These institutions, as noted in the report, "report increasing pressure from state authorities." Additionally, it states that "there is a trend towards stagnation" in the fight against corruption in the country.
La Repubblica compares the corruption scandal in Ukraine to the large-scale Italian investigation "Mani Pulite" ("Clean Hands") in the early 1990s, which revealed a strong corrupt connection between politics and business in the country.
Operation "Midas": Embezzlement of One Hundred Million Dollars
On Monday, NABU and SAP released part of the recordings related to the large-scale corruption case in the energy sector. According to reports, the case involved the embezzlement of state funds by the state enterprise "NAEK Energoatom."
The large-scale embezzlement at the state enterprise is allegedly linked to Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and the current Minister of Justice Herman Halushchenko, who previously held the position of Minister of Energy. President Zelensky responded to this information, stating that both individuals cannot remain in their positions.
The head of the European Union's foreign policy, Josep Borrell, was the first EU official to comment on the "Midas" case, noting that corrupt individuals were stealing the people's money that was supposed to reach the front lines.
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