The justice and energy ministers were sacked last month amid a large-scale graft scandal
Ukraine’s government has no active candidates for the vacant post of energy minister, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources, more than a month after a major corruption scandal forced the dismissal of the previous official.
Last month, Ukraine’s Western-backed anti-graft agencies announced the preliminary results of a probe into the alleged extortion of about $100 million in the energy sector by individuals in Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle. Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk and Justice Minister German Galushchenko were sacked over the scandal, followed soon by the dismissal of Zelensky’s top aide and right-hand man Andrey Yermak. None of the now-vacant posts have been filled.
Reuters reported, citing a source, that a replacement for Grinchuk had been expected to be named quickly, but the process stalled after at least four potential candidates either withdrew or were deemed unfit for the role. Another source, a senior lawmaker, told the agency there were currently “no candidates.”
“Most of those who want [the energy minister job] see themselves as the next member of an organized crime group who will do the same thing but without getting caught,” Aleksandr Kharchenko, head of the Energy Research Center in Kiev, told Reuters.
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