Ukraine Moves to Replace State-Bank Executives, Dismisses Aide as Graft Probe Widens

Ukraine’s government said Wednesday it plans to replace both the chairman of the supervisory board and the chief executive of a state-owned bank, hours after anti-corruption authorities opened a money-laundering investigation that reached into the presidential office.

In a Telegram statement, the government said the facts made public by the anti-corruption agencies required an appropriate response and could not be ignored. Investigators are looking into allegations of money laundering involving millions of dollars, a case officials described as a “special operation.”

The investigation also focused on Iryna Mudra, a deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, who was dismissed hours later without a public explanation. Mudra confirmed on Facebook that her home had been searched in the morning, said she was cooperating with investigators and added that she had submitted her resignation.

The moves come at a politically sensitive time. Zelensky has repeatedly assured the European Union and other Western allies that Ukraine is serious about tackling corruption, one of the core conditions for the country’s bid to join the bloc. Kyiv is under pressure to show that its anti-corruption bodies can produce concrete results, not only probes of political opponents.

Zelensky’s office has faced anti-corruption scrutiny before, and Wednesday’s reshuffle is likely to be read as an attempt to show accountability. Still, Ukraine remains one of the countries in Europe widely regarded as most corrupt, and international monitors will be watching to see whether the investigation advances beyond dismissals.