Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Detained in Corruption Inquiry
Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky was detained after being named a formal suspect in a multimillion-dollar corruption inquiry, prosecutors said Friday.
Accusations Against Solsky
- Solsky was accused of illegally seizing land worth more than $7 million when he was the head of a major farming company and a member of parliament.
- An anti-corruption court ordered him to be held in custody until June 24, prosecutors said. Bail was set at 75.7 million hryvnias ($1.9 million).
Government’s Anti-Corruption Efforts
Blighted by severe corruption scandals since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyiv has pledged to bolster its anti-graft efforts as part of its bid for European Union membership.
Other Individuals Charged
Prosecutors said Friday that they had also charged a dozen other people suspected in the case, including civil servants.
Background and Recent Developments
- Solsky, who owned a number of farming businesses, was elected to Ukraine’s parliament in 2019 and was appointed agriculture minister in March 2022.
- Earlier this week, Solsky offered his resignation and promised to cooperate with the probe.
- Several cases of corruption have emerged in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, although they have typically involved lower-level officials and been related to army procurement.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky last year sacked the country’s defence minister over a series of procurement scandals in the army.