Even though there is as of now not much prospect of the conflict in Ukraine coming to an end (and US interests actually profit from making it perpetual), there is much talk already about “rebuilding” the country. In a November video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed it would take no less than $1 trillion to rebuild it.
It is strange to talk about rebuilding anything when the West itself rejects any peace plan, but, be it as it may, under such a “reconstruction” banner, lots of cash have been flowing into Ukraine, a nation infamous for being Europe’s most corrupt country. Much the same way a large part of the weaponry sent to Kiev has been ending up in Africa and the Middle East, through black markets, (and, in fact the Pentagon could not account for billions worth of arms), one could only suspect from the very beginning that something similar may occur when it comes to huge amounts of cash. By December 2022, the total amount of US dollars sent there totaled about $68 billion or even more, and the funds should keep coming this year.
According to Ukraine’s media reports, the Ukrainian investment company Dragon Capital and American multinational investment company BlackRock are involved in shady businesses. US giant BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, gained a strong foothold in the country in November upon signing a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Economy on marshaling funding aimed at the nation’s reconstruction. The company has some history: it was the target of accusations pertaining to corruption and environmental damage in Mexico, and its CEO, Larry Fink, has been under a lot of controversy since December.
BlackRock, which manages multibillion dollar flows of business giants and states, is home to the crème de la crème of the US financial elite. In January, while addressing the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, Zelensky boasted that BlackRock, as well as JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs had “already become part of our Ukrainian way” – without clarifying what precisely is meant by the “Ukrainian way”. It may have become so, nonetheless, in more ways than he would probably feel comfortable talking about. The aforementioned JP Morgan, for instance, has large holdings in US defense contractors. These giant corporations basically profit from prolonging the conflict while investing their profits in reconstruction projects.
In addition, also according to Ukrainian news reports, there is the inevitable connection with George Soros’ network, which has an enormous presence in Ukraine. The billionaire’s right arm there appears to be the oligarch Tomas Fiala, Dragon Capital’s founder and CEO. This company used to oversee the Western funds transferred to the country aimed at combating corruption and promoting some reforms.
Part of such funds comes from Russia’s seized gold and foreign exchange reserves. The thing is that portions of these sums, it is claimed, albeit intended for anti-corruption programs, are ironically being diverted for corruption schemes. In addition, such schemes include sending part of the money “back” to the US, disguised as donations for the US President’s Democratic Party. This way, top officials within the current American administration could funnel billions of taxpayer’s money into Ukraine and then get part of it “back” as their share.
These allegations should not be promptly dismissed or deemed too incredible: back in August 2021, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament denounced a corruption ring within Naftogaz, the largest national oil and gas company. His testimony included supposedly leaked audio records of then Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden (the current US President) offering the then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko a billion dollars as part of a negotiation to dismiss the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin who was investigating the business activities of Joe Biden’ son, Hunter Biden, in the country.
Some analysts even believe that Hunter Biden’s shady activities in that Slavic nation, which include sexual scandals, and the biolabs allegations, could be employed by Kiev to urge concessions from the White house. This is so because since last year the stories have been gaining traction within the media and thus risked becoming a domestic political scandal. Ukraine’s own scandals amid a war also risk eroding its political unity. A sign of it was January’s mass resignation of several high-ranking authorities.
The corruption situation in the Eastern European country has always had the potential to hamper its alliance with the US. In Washington today, the Republicans, such as Republican Senator JD Vance, for example, are increasingly vocal about investigating a possible Democrat money laundering scheme in Ukraine.
This factor in Ukraine and its American connection is thus not merely of interest to the police authorities and prosecutors in both countries (not to mention the tabloids). It has geopolitical and geoeconomic implications.
I have written on how American foreign policy efforts aimed at opposing the German-Russian Nord Stream project were entangled in a web of corruption. Although there obviously are bilateral and local disagreements and points of contention which have led to the escalation of tensions, the current Russo-Ukrainian confrontation is also, up to some degree, a proxy American war waged against Moscow.
Washington’s interests in this war have to do with geopolitical goals pertaining to Russia’s containment, NATO’s expansion and the defense of unipolarity. However, there are also energy and geoeconomic interests, which in turn seem to intertwine with private interests, and those may include potentially catastrophic corruption scandals involving the Biden family and the Democratic party.
Uriel Araujo, researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts