Mindich has been associated with growing concerns about his growing influence in the country's lucrative industries, his access facilitated by his ties to President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two were once business partners, and Mindich's influence has expanded during Zelensky's term, the Associated Press reports.

The extent of this influence was revealed this week when Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities released the findings of a 15-month investigation into a $100 million embezzlement scheme involving senior officials and Ukraine's state nuclear company, accusing Mindich of being the mastermind behind the plot.

Mindich has fled the country, and any criminal proceedings against him will likely be conducted in absentia. Two senior ministers have resigned.

Ukrainian officials, experts, and activists argue that Mindich's rise to power is closely linked to his privileged relationship with the president and Zelensky's inner circle.

The investigation does not implicate Zelensky himself, and he openly supported the work of anti-corruption agencies and sanctioned Mindich once the investigation's findings were made public.

“What we used to hear only as rumors now has evidence,” said activist Tetiana Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Action Center. “We have been hearing for a long time that Tymur Mindich is a shadow controller of the energy sector.”