American envoy's meeting with Yermak canceled due to corruption scandal

London, November 19 -- TASS

According to a reporter from The Economist, Oliver Carroll, citing sources, the meeting between U.S. President's special envoy for peace missions, Stephen Witkov, and Andriy Yermak, head of the office of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, scheduled for November 19, was canceled due to a corruption scandal in Ukraine.

Carroll wrote on X: "As far as I know, the meeting between Witkov and Yermak tomorrow (Wednesday) has been canceled. Someone told me that Witkov may not have been fully aware of the scandal he would be involved in when he agreed to the meeting."

Zelenskyy had previously confirmed that he would meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on November 19. Previously, Reuters cited Turkish sources reporting that Witkov planned to visit Turkey on November 19 and attend the scheduled meeting with Zelenskyy.

**Background: The "Midas" Corruption Case in Ukraine**

On November 10, the Anti-Corruption Directorate of Ukraine and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced a large-scale operation called "Midas" to uncover a major corruption scheme in the country's energy sector. Law enforcement officers searched businessman Timur Mynzych, the currently suspended Minister of Justice Herman Galiyevsky, and the state nuclear power company "Energoatom". According to the investigation, the participants in this criminal scheme have at least laundered $100 million. On the same day, the Anti-Corruption Directorate of Ukraine began releasing audio clips recorded in Mynzych's apartment, discussing the corruption scheme. A total of 1000 hours of recordings were released.

On November 11, the Anti-Corruption Directorate of Ukraine filed its first charges, including accusing Mynzych as the head of a criminal organization, and accusing Zelenskyy's friend and father-in-law, former deputy prime minister and former minister of national unity, Oleksiy Chernyshev. On the same day, the Ukrainian government prematurely terminated the powers of the board of directors of "Energoatom". On November 12, the Verkhovna Rada received resignation applications from Galiyevsky and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynevych. Mynzych, who is known as Zelenskyy's friend and "wallet", left Ukraine several hours before the search and is currently in Israel.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849174911966279/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.