KYIV — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the deputy head of the presidential office on Wednesday, his office announced. Iryna Mudra’s dismissal comes on the same day the country’s anti-corruption investigators launched a major operation targeting an alleged criminal organisation involving politicians and senior government officials.Officers from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) raided Mudra’s residence as part of the “Forrest Gump” special operation. NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are investigating the activities of an alleged criminal group.According to anti-corruption agencies, the group may have included an official from the Office of the President, a former member of parliament, executives of a state-owned bank, and other individuals. At the same time, NABU and SAPO did not name Mudra in their statements.The agencies did not initially identify those involved or set out the allegations against them, saying further details would be released later.Ukrainian media reported that NABU had searched premises linked to Mudra and member of parliament Vadym Stolar.Mudra is responsible for legal affairs and judicial reform in the presidential office. She previously served as a deputy justice minister.Stolar was elected to parliament as a member of the pro-Russian opposition platform For Life, which was banned after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.He now sits with Restoration of Ukraine, a parliamentary group formed largely by former members of the banned party.NABU has released excerpts from intercepted conversations as part of the operation but has not publicly identified the speakers.The recordings appear to include discussions about registering assets in the names of children and references to the presidential office.The operation comes amid a series of investigations by NABU and SAPO into alleged corruption at the highest levels of Ukrainian politics.
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