Zelensky Clears Ministers in Carthage Case, Targets Khimprom Cartel

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that senior government ministers and officials whose names surfaced on wiretaps during the Operation Carthage anti-corruption probe are not implicated in criminal cooperation, while calling for international action to dismantle the Khimprom narcotics syndicate. Speaking during a briefing with journalists reported by state news agency Ukrinform on Saturday, Nov. 14, Zelensky confirmed that he consulted directly with detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) regarding officials mentioned in the published recordings.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “You could verify that neither Klymenko, nor Vyhivskyi, nor Poklad personally have anything to do with this. I know this from law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies. I spoke with everyone several times. The story is very unpleasant, very wrong. But there is an investigation, and I support this investigation. And there will be further personnel changes,” Zelensky said, referring to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, National Police Chief Ivan Vyhivskyi, and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Head Oleksandr Poklad. The president added that anti-corruption authorities confirmed the absence of evidence against Health Minister Viktor Liashko and parliamentary faction leader David Arakhamia as well. “I asked representatives of NABU and SAPO about the surnames heard on the tapes: ‘Do you have anything on them?’ – ‘No. Neither Liashko, nor Klymenko, nor Arakhamia have any relation to any contacts with these people,’” Zelensky stated. Other Topics of Interest Putin has rejected a bilateral energy ceasefire while Starshield speed caps in occupied Ukraine hamper drone defenses and carry political risks, Zelensky said on Friday. Zelensky warned of intelligence ties behind Khimprom Addressing the transnational synthetic drug cartel Khimprom, which sits at the center of the criminal probe, Zelensky emphasized that the syndicate’s operations must be completely halted through coordinated international enforcement. “Such risks exist in other countries as well. They have already entered Poland, and they are trying to enter Germany – this is what we have spoken about and what we have operational intelligence on,” the president said. Zelensky suggested that the syndicate operates with backing from foreign intelligence agencies beyond the Russian Federation, characterizing it as a well-funded network attempting to infiltrate state institutions over many years. “This direction certainly does not operate without the support of special services, and not only Russian ones,” Zelensky observed. “These are people with an unlimited financial flow who have been trying to ‘buy’ people in various institutions for years – and not only in Ukraine.” Operation Carthage and Serhiy Duka’s bail The presidential remarks follow the Nov. 4 disclosure by NABU and SAPO of a high-level bribery scheme in which officials across the SBU, National Police, and Prosecutor General’s Office allegedly shielded fraudulent call centers, narcotics trafficking, counterfeit currency operations, and illegal tobacco manufacturing in exchange for payoffs. According to NABU, the network was directed by a Russian national with ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) using the codename “Mexican,” who founded the Khimprom cartel. On Friday, Nov. 13, the full bail of Hr. 65 million ($1.5 million) was posted for SBU Maj. Gen. Serhiy Duka, former first deputy head of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of National Statehood, who was arrested on Nov. 4 under the codename “Akim” and accused of threatening detectives with a firearm and smashing devices with a hammer during searches. Duka’s defense lawyer, Yuriy Sukhov, stated that SBU personnel voluntarily contributed the majority of the bail funds, allowing Duka to leave pre-trial detention while remaining an SBU employee under protection from the agency’s Alpha special unit due to alleged Russian assassination threats. Following the scandal, SBU Chief Poklad dismissed implicated agency officials, the National Police suspended officers under investigation, and Zelensky submitted legislation restoring mandatory asset declarations for all SBU personnel.