The Supreme Rada in Kiev has dismissed ministers Gherman Galuschenko and Svitlana Grinciuk, amid a corruption scandal in the energy sector involving the Energoatom company.
The Supreme Rada, the unicameral parliament of Ukraine, voted on Wednesday, November 19, with a two-thirds majority, to dismiss Gherman Galuschenko, former Minister of Energy and current Minister of Justice, and his successor, Svitlana Grinciuk. The move comes in the wake of a growing corruption scandal in the energy sector, after information about a bribery scheme at the Energoatom company leaked to the press and intense political pressure in the Ukrainian parliament.
Before the vote, MPs from the opposition European Solidarity party blocked the podium, demanding the resignation of the entire government led by Prime Minister Iulia Sviridenko. The situation eased only after Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kacika answered parliamentary questions, allowing the legislative procedure to continue, according to Agerprs.
Neither Gherman Galuschenko nor Svitlana Grinciuk were present for the entire session. Both had submitted their resignations a week earlier, at the request of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The political crisis was triggered last week, after the press published recordings revealing discussions about several bribe payments within the Energoatom company, the state operator of nuclear power plants, through which the Ukrainian state was defrauded of approximately 100 million dollars.
As the scandal escalated, businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate and former business partner of President Volodymyr Zelensky, left the country just a few hours before anti-corruption prosecutors searched his home.
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