Failed bribery plots and official denials
President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Nov. 13 that Health Minister Viktor Liashko, former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, and lawmaker David Arakhamia have no links to the Khimprom criminal network. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau released recordings where perpetrators discussed which senior officials they should seek to bribe or influence. I find the situation regarding the Khimprom drug empire particularly messy. The recordings show that the organization planned to bribe Klymenko, the current secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and Liashko to keep synthetic drugs off the list of banned substances in Ukraine. This bribery attempt failed, and the Anti-Corruption Bureau states Klymenko has no involvement. The organization’s plan to bribe officials failed. Zelensky asked anti-corruption officials if they had anything on these three men, and they told him they had no information regarding any contacts with the criminal group. The three individuals do not appear on any of the tapes published by the bureau, and Zelensky noted that this is a very unpleasant story.
The Khimprom network and intelligence concerns
Yehor Burkin, a Russian-born fugitive known by the call sign "Mexican," founded the Khimprom network alongside Andrii Osipov, who goes by "Criminal." Burkin reportedly kept contact with Russia’s Federal Security Service during the full-scale war. This duo ran a network that protected scam call centers, sold synthetic drugs, and attacked those attempting to uncover the group’s illicit activity. They operated U420, a retail chain selling drugs at "souvenir shops." They changed the chemical structure of substances to produce compounds that were not formally included on lists of controlled drugs to evade detection. Osipov was detained this summer in connection with a separate criminal case, and his phone data helped uncover the Khimprom scheme. Zelensky claims that Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi and Security Service Chief Oleksandr Poklad are not involved, even though certain police officers and Security Service officials are implicated in the Khimprom scheme. The drug network has already made inroads into Poland and attempts to enter Germany, and Zelensky believes the operation has support from intelligence services. Zelensky called on Americans to help stop the network so it cannot buy influence in European parliaments. He said he supports the ongoing investigation.
