Who is Timur Mindich, Zelensky's close associate at the center of a major corruption probe?
Timur Mindich, a businessman who is reportedly at the center of a major corruption probe, is a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky with interests in multiple industries.
Mindich, a co-owner of the president's Kvartal 95 production company, has allegedly profited from his ties with Zelensky and dramatically increased his clout in recent years, according to journalist investigations.
An investigation into Mindich's activities by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) was one of the factors that led to an attempt by the authorities to eliminate the NABU's independence in July, law enforcement sources told the Kyiv Independent.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted searches in Kyiv on Nov. 10 in premises connected to Mindich, law enforcement sources told the Kyiv Independent. Mindich had fled before the searches, according to the sources.
The NABU said on Nov. 10 it was investigating a major corruption scheme in the energy sector, including Ukraine's state nuclear power company Energoatom. The Kyiv Independent source confirmed that it was part of the same case.
Mindich was not available for comment, while the president's press service did not respond to requests for comment.
A Zelensky associate
Mindich, 46, is from the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine. He is a film producer and former business partner of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.
He reportedly has links to Israel. Mindich celebrated his birthday in Israel in September, returned to Ukraine in mid-October and then went to Israel again, according to Ukrainska Pravda's sources.
Mindich is also a long-time friend of Zelensky, with whom he co-owned production company Kvartal 95 until Zelensky transferred his stake to partners after being elected president in 2019.
Mindich also co-owns Green Family Ltd, a Cypriot firm that co-founded film production companies in Russia, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
In 2019, Zelensky's drove an armored car provided by Mindich, RFE/RL reported.
Mindich visited the President's Office at least three times in 2020, RFE/RL reported then. He told the media outlet that he had met with Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak.
In 2021, Zelensky celebrated his birthday in Mindich's apartment, according to the Schemes investigative journalism project. Later the same year Mindich attended a birthday party held by Yermak at the Synyohora presidential residence in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Political influence
Mindich has reportedly expanded his political and business influence over the past few years.
He recommended that Zelensky appoint ex-Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, according to sources cited by the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda. Since 2019, when Zelensky took power, Chernyshov held a number of high-ranking positions — Kyiv Oblast governor, regional minister, head of Naftogaz energy company and later deputy prime minister.
Chernyshov was fired after the Anti-Corruption Bureau charged him with bribery and abuse of power in June 2025.
Mindich's protégés allegedly include Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, Energy Minister Svitlana Hrinchuk, and acting Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval, according to Ukrainska Pravda's sources. Their respective ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
Premises linked to Halushchenko, who was energy minister from 2021 to 2025, were also searched by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Nov. 10, according to the Kyiv Independent's sources.
Business influence
The Anti-Corruption Bureau has investigated Mindich's alleged connections with drone producer Fire Point, sources previously told the Kyiv Independent, citing a NABU investigation into the company. Fire Point has denied having any links to Mindich.
In October, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the opposition Holos party, published an investigation about Mindich's alleged diamond business in Ukraine and Russia.
Mindich owned a stake in Russian diamond producer New Diamond Technology until 2024 — well into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Zheleznyak's investigation.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Nov. 6 that it was investigating Mindich on suspicion of aiding the aggressor state in the wake of Zheleznyak's investigation.
Zheleznyak also claimed in April that the Anti-Corruption Bureau was investigating Mindich in a Hr 2 billion ($48 million) embezzlement case linked to the Odesa Portside Plant, a fertilizer producer. The NABU said it could not comment on the report, while the plant did not respond to a request for comment.
Mindich also has interests in the media industry.
Kinokit, a company owned by Mindich's former legal advisor Yulia Drozdova, signed contracts worth more than Hr 350 million ($8.5 million) between 2022 and 2024 to produce content for the telethon, Ukraine's state-run pool of TV channels created during wartime, according to the Bihus.info investigative journalism project.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Mindich also allegedly influences the banking industry, specifically through the nationalized Sense Bank. The bank did not respond to a request for comment.
Another industry where Mindich allegedly has interests is energy.
In June, the NABU arrested his relative Leonid Mindich when he was trying to flee abroad, according to Ukrainska Pravda. He was charged with embezzling $16 million from the electric power company Kharkivoblenergo.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
