Zelenskiy seeks urgent renewal of supervisory boards in defence sector

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KYIV, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he had urged Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal to carry out an urgent renewal of supervisory boards in the defence sector, aiming to restore investors’ confidence after a corruption scandal.

Ukraine has been rocked by a corruption scandal over an alleged $100-million kickback scheme in which senior energy officials and a former business associate of Zelenskiy are suspected of involvement.

It is Ukraine’s biggest such scandal since Zelenskiy became president in 2019 on a mandate to eliminate graft. Eradicating graft and shoring up the rule of law are key requirements for Kyiv to join the European Union, which Ukrainians see as critical to their future as they fend off a Russian invasion.

“It’s through supervisory boards that management and oversight of internal processes in companies are carried out, and this must be ensured one hundred percent,” Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messenger.

He also said that supervisory boards in state-run energy companies must be formed by the end of this month after the powers of most supervisory boards are terminated today.

The government said last month that it planned to appoint a new supervisory board at Energoatom, the state nuclear company at the heart of a corruption scandal, by the end of this year.

“The pace of transformation is satisfactory and must ensure full transparency in management,” Zelenskiy said after meeting with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

“New members of the supervisory boards must be appointed in December in accordance with a clear and fair procedure.”

State-owned companies such as oil and gas firm Naftogaz, power grid operator Ukrenergo and nuclear energy company Energoatom dominate the Ukrainian energy sector.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Writing by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Andrew Heavens and Timothy Heritage)