When President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration cracked down this summer on two anti-corruption agencies that had investigated his close associates, protesters mounted the first large street demonstrations in Ukraine during more than three years of war.
Parliament quickly repealed legislation that had sharply limited the agencies’ independence. But the reversal did not extend to a criminal case against a former top government investigator whose inquiry into the business dealings of close associates of Mr. Zelensky’s set off the fight over the agencies, according to anti-corruption experts.
On Friday, the investigator, Ruslan Magamedrasulov, appeared in court in Kyiv and was ordered to remain in jail pending a trial, Ukrainian news outlets reported. He was arrested on July 21 by the S.B.U., Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency. He has been accused of aiding the enemy by working with his father to sell industrial hemp to clients in Russia. Ukraine strictly regulates any trade with Russia.
Mr. Magamedrasulov’s supporters call the charges absurd and say he is a political prisoner. His fate, they say, is a bellwether for Ukraine’s efforts to tackle its longstanding corruption problems.
Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of Parliament in the opposition party Holos, said that Mr. Magamedrasulov had been assisting an investigation into Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Mr. Zelensky’s. Mr. Mindich and Mr. Zelensky shared ownership of a television studio, Kvartal 95, before Mr. Zelensky was elected president in 2019.
Daria Kaleniuk, the director of one of Ukraine’s most prominent groups promoting clean government, said that Mr. Magamedrasulov was being prosecuted on the hemp trading allegation to shut down his investigation into high-level corruption.
The S.B.U., Ms. Kaleniuk said, is sending a message to anti-corruption investigators to steer clear of inquiries into top officials. In a statement, the S.B.U. said that the case was not politically motivated and that Mr. Magamedrasulov had not been part of any investigation into Mr. Mindich.
The agency that employed Mr. Magamedrasulov, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, has not publicly commented on his investigations for the agency. An email seeking comment from Kvartal 95 was not answered.
In comments from jail reported by NV, a Ukrainian news outlet, Mr. Magamedrasulov said that he believed he had been arrested in retaliation for his work. He did not disclose details of his investigations but said his arrest was “a threat addressed to everyone who has the courage to investigate top corruption in Ukraine.”
Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting.
Maria Varenikova covers Ukraine and its war with Russia.
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