Prosecutor's office receives order to probe top Zelensky ally but no investigation opened so far

The Prosecutor General’s Office has received a court order to open a corruption investigation against David Arakhamia, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s parliamentary faction, the office told the Kyiv Independent on Nov. 13.

It is not clear, however, if and when the investigation will be opened.

The High Anti-Corruption Court on Nov. 4 ordered acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalskyi to open a case into an alleged vote buying scheme in parliament involving Arakhamia. The lawmaker has denied the accusations of wrongdoing.

The Anti-Corruption Action Center, an independent watchdog, has lambasted Kovalskyi for refusing to open the investigation so far.

Arakhamia has played a key role in securing votes for key legislation and has dramatically increased his clout since the resignation of Zelensky's then Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak in 2025. Some analysts and lawmakers describe him as the second most influential person in Ukraine.

The acting prosecutor general's approval is necessary for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to investigate Arakhamia, as Ukrainian law gives the prosecutor general exclusive authority to register alleged crimes involving members of parliament.

“For now, I can only confirm that the Prosecutor General's Office received the High Anti-Corruption Court's ruling on Nov. 12,” Mariana Hayovska, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor General’s Office, told the Kyiv Independent. “It will be reviewed in accordance with the procedure established by law.”

On Nov. 10, the Prosecutor General's Office said it had not yet received the ruling in response to an inquiry from the news site Shelter.

“Zelensky's prosecutor general is flagrantly disregarding a court ruling to shield Arakhamia from an investigation by the NABU,” Vitaly Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center's executive board, wrote on Facebook on Nov. 11. “A week ago, the court ordered him to open a criminal investigation, but he claims he 'never received' the ruling.”

Shabunin also argued that the explanation by the prosecutor’s office was absurd since a prosecutor from the Prosecutor General's Office personally attended the Nov. 4 hearing when the judge announced the ruling. He even asked the court to reject the watchdog's complaint, Shabunin added.

“This is now the second prosecutor general appointed by Zelensky in a row to shield the head of the president's parliamentary faction from an investigation,” Shabunin said. “Political appointees will always protect their own — even from the courts. That's precisely why the prosecutor general should be selected through an open competition involving international experts.”

The Prosecutor General's Office had also refused to open a case against Arakhamia in February following a complaint by another anti-corruption NGO, Mezha. At the time, the prosecutor general was Ruslan Kravchenko, who fled Ukraine in September amid a corruption scandal.

The court ruling on Arakhamia was issued in response to a complaint by the Anti-Corruption Action Center.

The complaint cited a case involving lawmakers who, according to the NABU, may have received cash in exchange for their votes.

Five lawmakers from Zelensky's Servant of the People party were charged in the case in December, including Yurii Kisel, head of the parliamentary transport committee and one of Arakhamia's deputies.

At the time, searches were also conducted at the premises of an Arakhamia aide, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent.

According to the source, the investigation could involve more members of parliament, and some lawmakers had been questioned in the case.

"I've never been involved (in the alleged vote-buying), and I believe no such thing happened," Arakhamia told reporters at a meeting in Washington on Nov. 6.

When asked about the accusations, Arakhamia told the Kyiv Independent that he "hadn't had time to look into the matter."

"I'm not involved in anything that is not related to the possibility of de-escalating the war or passing bills necessary to secure financial assistance for the country," Arakhamia told the Kyiv Independent on Nov. 5.

Arakhamia denied in 2022 that lawmakers were receiving unofficial cash payments. But lawmakers from other parties argued that, as the head of the parliamentary group, he must have been aware of the practice, and they speculated that he may even have helped establish the system to maintain control over voting.