Golden toilet scandal: Zelensky faces deepest crisis yet as allies accused in $100M wartime scheme

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is battling the deepest crisis of his presidency after a money-laundering probe named members of his inner circle, including an associate accused of living in “golden toilet” luxury, a former government official has claimed.Their comments came as the president faces scrutiny over the investigation that agencies said Monday involves associates allegedly linked to a plot to siphon around $100 million from Ukraine’s energy sector during the war with Russia.“Ukrainians don’t have any motivation to fight now because of enormous human rights violations and also because of this corruption now exposed,” the former official told Fox News Digital, under condition of anonymity.“People inside the country are already seeing this corruption and this is just part of the corrupt swamp.Zelensky is part of the problem,” they claimed.Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s financial system has come under scrutiny and now some Ukrainians are accused of taking kickbacks from projects meant to protect energy plants during wartime, prompting public outrage and undermining faith in government.“This money laundering appeared to have been going on since 2022 and there were a lot of people who tried to stop this,” the former official said.“Some say Zelensky was aware of these schemes and that he had approved them,” they claimed.“There was also suspicion that money ended up in accounts abroad that benefited Zelensky and his inner circle,” they said.Over 15 months, a sweeping investigation dubbed “Operation Midas” by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) uncovered the schemes.In one major Energoatom probe targeting Ukraine’s state nuclear power company and its energy contracts, businessman Tymur Mindich was named. Mindich co-owned the entertainment company Kvartal 95 with the president and, according to The Kyiv Independent, Mindich was alleged to be the ringleader of that network.The Financi...