“Their own people” and empty chairs: how the government took control of state-owned companies
Фото: telegram/V_Zelenskiy_official
Over the past four years, the Ukrainian government has systematically interfered in the work of independent supervisory boards of state-owned companies, allowing important financial decisions to be made without proper oversight and contributing to the growth of corruption.
This is stated in a major investigation by The New York Times , which cites documents and interviews with more than 20 Ukrainian and Western officials.
After the start of the full-scale war, the US and EU countries demanded independent control over state-owned enterprises to ensure the use of billions of dollars in aid. However, according to the NYT, the administration of Volodymyr Zelenskyy has filled supervisory boards with loyal members, left some of the seats vacant or changed the charters of companies so that the government had a decisive influence. This allowed it to maintain control over the appointments of managers and block the work of the boards, which were supposed to combat corruption.
The NYT calls Energoatom one of the key examples. Anti-corruption agencies suspect representatives of the government’s inner circle of involvement in a large-scale scheme with kickbacks worth about $100 million. At the same time, the government, according to the publication, delayed the formation of the company’s supervisory board and deprived it of real influence. At the same time, Energoatom promoted a project to purchase two old Russian reactors in Bulgaria for more than $600 million – an initiative that Western partners criticized as dubious and potentially corrupt.
Similar processes, according to the NYT, took place at Ukrenergo. The company’s former CEO, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, said that even before the full-scale war, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko put pressure on him, demanding the appointment of people without relevant experience. The supervisory board initially restrained this pressure, but after the government failed to fill the vacancy and achieved a balance of votes between foreign and Ukrainian members, the situation changed. One of the foreign board members supported the Ukrainian side, which allowed Kudrytsky to be dismissed. Two other board members resigned in protest, calling the dismissal politically motivated. However, European donors did not stop funding the company so as not to create threats to the energy system during the war.
Journalists also describe government interference in the work of the Defense Procurement Agency, which was supposed to ensure transparent weapons procurement. During the year, the agency spent at least $1 billion in European funds without a full-fledged supervisory board. The agency’s former head, Marina Bezrukova, told the NYT that the Defense Ministry pressured her to approve suspicious contracts, including with a state-owned manufacturer that supplied substandard mortar shells. On the eve of the first meeting of the supervisory board, the Defense Ministry rewrote the agency’s charter and took away the board’s right to dismiss management. When one foreign board member resigned, the board lost its quorum, and the powers passed to the ministry, which soon removed Bezrukova.
The NYT notes that European partners have known about the problems for years but did not want a confrontation with Kyiv in the midst of war. At the same time, corruption scandals are undermining trust in Ukraine, weakening its position on the path to the EU and NATO, and could jeopardize hundreds of billions of dollars in post-war reconstruction.
It was previously reported that the draft State Budget for 2026 will include all non-targeted expenditures intended for corruption schemes until the second reading – this was stated during a briefing by Nina Yuzhanina, a member of parliament from the European Solidarity faction.
Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram.