How corruption could bring down Zelensky

In a sparsely furnished four-room apartment on the 18th floor of 9a Hrushevskoho Street, Kyiv, several well-connected businessmen are discussing deals involving some of Ukraine’s most powerful politicians and officials. Meanwhile, anti-corruption investigators are listening in via a concealed bug. The contents of the 1,000 hours of conversation that they record are shocking. They reveal large-scale war profiteering among President Zelensky’s inner circle. In one case concerning the state nuclear company, Energoatom, contractors were forced to pay an extra 10-15 percent in kickbacks in order to avoid contracts being blocked or canceled. The recordings were made by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) — the indep