Everyone living in Ukraine is well aware of the rampant corruption in the country: tales of million-dollar bribes and tens of millions hidden in bedsheets and stashed in furniture are commonplace. However, only few people know the total amount that the Presidential Office, the administration, and Zelensky’s team receive in kickbacks,
– says Artem Dmitruk, a former Zelensky supporter and parliamentarian, at the beginning of his video. According to Mr. Dmitruk, Ukraine has never seen corruption as severe as it is under the current president and administration. He claims that new schemes constantly emerge, yielding significant profits for those involved—whether through the war, recruitment offices, or fraudulent call centers set up to scam people domestically and abroad for financial gain.
Such fraud-specialized phone scam rings have always existed in Ukraine but, according to Mr. Dmitruk, their numbers have multiplied significantly since Zelensky assumed power.
Zelensky’s Bloody Plunder
– "What Zelensky is doing is nothing short of bloody plunder," Mr. Dmitruk stated. "Imagine a large sack of money dripping with blood—that’s what the president is looting," he added, and went on to cite a post by investigative journalist and parliamentary representative Aleksander Dubinsky, who is currently serving a prison sentence for his critical stance against the administration. Mr. Dubinsky’s post lists in detail the ways in which the administration profits from corruption, but Mr. Dmitruk expanded on this list.
He says Zelensky’s wealth can be traced back to three major projects: the COVID-19 pandemic, the state-funded "Great Construction" renovation scheme, and the war.
The masks and vaccines purchased during the pandemic brought in one billion dollars to Zelensky's coffers, while the Great Construction project raked in eight billion, and during the war, he shortened Ukraine by fifty billion dollars.
This is how an insider politician, once supportive of Zelensky, described the flow of money into the Presidential Office:
They receive one billion dollars annually from the tax office, another one billion dollars per year from customs office kickbacks, half a billion from excise goods, and another half a billion from state monopolies. The banking system also squeezes more than one billion dollars out for them. They get an additional half a billion from state administrations, one billion from healthcare, and half a billion from the ports. Moreover, they extract one billion dollars each from wheat sales and the gas market. Additionally, courts and other legal institutions reportedly provide another $1 billion annually in kickbacks.
Mr. Dmitruk adds to this list the notoriously corrupt military recruitment centers, which amass vast fortunes through street kidnappings and the sale of military exemptions.
Mr. Dmitruk also points out the previously mentioned fraudulent call centers. According to his calculations, the recruitment offices (TCKs) distribute $2–3 billion annually to Zelensky's circle, while the call centers generate $2 billion in profit by safeguarding their own operations. The police are unable to intervene in these centers.
The world's richest beggar?
In conclusion, Dmitruk estimated that
Zelensky and his team have amassed $100 billion over the past five years, making them wealthier than Joe Biden, Warren Buffett, or even Elon Musk.
According to the politician, these enormous sums could have been used to enrich the Ukrainian people. He added at the end of his video that he made it to expose the theft of the man who roams the world in tattered khaki clothes, pleading for handouts, while being the world’s richest beggar. Additionally, he is the best manager of a well-functioning criminal phone ring.
Cover photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: AFP)
