Reuters cites corruption accusations against Ukraine's Deputy Head of President's Office and calls Head of President's Office "green cardinal"

The Reuters agency has recalled corruption scandals involving Oleh Tatarov, Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine, and called Andrii Yermak, head of the President’s Office, a "green cardinal", considering the degree of his influence in this country.

Source: Reuters

Details: The news agency has published an article with a title "Corruption accusations continue to plague top Zelenskiy aides".

The article says that Oleh Maiboroda, the chief executive of one of Ukraine's biggest construction firms Ukrbud, bribed public officials to approve building projects through Oleh Tatarov, now senior adviser to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Maiboroda said this in an interview in Vienna, where he has settled to escape prosecution in Ukraine for his own alleged role in corruption schemes.

Maiboroda said bribes flowed through Tatarov from 2014 to 2019. The lawyer's contacts with police, courts and prosecutors made him a perfect mediator. He provided no proof of his words.

He added that he received regular orders from Maksym Mykytas, developer and former member of the Ukrainian Parliament, to hand over certain amounts of cash to Tatarov.

In his statement for Reuters, Mykytas accused Maiboroda of ""false testimony" and behaving "like a cornered animal" after himself being accused of corruption. He said Tatarov's contacts and influence were being "greatly exaggerated."

Maiboroda remarked that Tatarov would either collect the bribes himself or sent a driver to do it. Tatarov accounted for this money as construction projects expenses.

Maiboroda showed Reuters what he said was a list of bribes, recorded in a spreadsheet, totaling US$1.8 million paid by Tatarov. He also shared three signed cash receipts that matched entries on the list. Maiboroda said the signatory was Tatarov, and the list of bribes was from Ukrbud Development's accounts. Reuters could not independently verify this.

Reuters shared the receipts with Mykytas and Tatarov. Mykytas said they were a forgery. Tatarov didn't respond. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said experts would need to study the material to verify it.

Quote by Reuters: "Maiboroda's remarks threaten to reignite a controversy that has plagued President Volodymyr Zelenskiy even in wartime: accusations by political opponents and anti-corruption campaigners that powerful people have shielded Tatarov from prosecution."

More details: Reuters reported that Zelenskyy and Tatarov provided no responses to detailed questions for the article.

Reuters recalled a scandal with "trading positions" involving the brother of Andrii Yermak and reported that Yermak himself is called a "green cardinal" in diplomatic circles abroad.

Quote: "These days, he [Yermak – ed.]  is frequently alongside Zelenskiy at government meetings and public events. He is known among foreign diplomats as the "green cardinal" because of his reputed influence and because, like his boss, he has taken to wearing khaki."

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