Zelenskyy's secret encounters with FBI concerns - believed to call for new amnesty for corruption
Published 13 December 2025 at 08.34

Foreign. Secret meetings between the FBI leadership and Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov have raised concerns among Western governments. Several Western countries believe the sensitive talks have been about Ukrainian politicians wanting to get a "amnesty" to be able to keep money they seized during the war through corruption, the Washington Post reported.


According to several diplomats and officials with transparency, Ukraine's top peace negotiator, Rustem Umerov, has in recent weeks travelled to the United States repeatedly.

Officially, the trips have been about meetings in Miami with President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, where a U.S. proposal to end the nearly four-year war with Russia has been discussed.

In parallel with these talks, Umerov also held secret meetings with FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bonino. The data is confirmed by four people with knowledge of the contacts, all of whom speak anonymously because the discussions have been confidential, writes the Washington Post.

It is precisely these meetings that have created concern in European capitals. Several Western representatives say they lack information about the purpose and content of meetings, and that the parallel channel to the FBI creates uncertainty around the U.S. strategy.

Several countries suspect that Ukrainian representatives have sought contact with Patel and Bongino in hopes of securing some form of amnesty against future recovery and possible prosecution for corruption.

Ukraine has received thousands of billions in support from EU countries and US taxpayers since the outbreak of war, which worried assessors because the country's government is one of the most corrupt in the world. Only Swedish taxpayers have contributed SEK 109 billion so far.

The increased involvement of U.S. law enforcement authorities in an already complicated diplomatic game is perceived by several Western diplomats as unusual and potentially destabilizing, the Washington Post writes.

At the same time, intense attempts are underway from Washington to bring about a breakthrough in the peace negotiations, something that puts Ukraine's leadership under heavy pressure both internally and from its international partners.

Ukraine faces an extensive corruption scandal after investigators discovered that the equivalent of about 1,000 billion kronor has been stolen from the country's energy sector. Eight people in the Zelenskyy network have been accused of embezzlement, money laundering and other crimes.

However, the suspected principals were given the opportunity to flee to Israel before any detention was carried out.

"The massive problems of corruption there," Donald Trump said earlier this week adding.

People ask themselves, when are they going to make choices?

The Ukrainian government has declared a state of emergency and Zelensky has postponed next presidential and parliamentary elections indefinitely. It is also speculated that Umerov, who, in addition to representing Zelenskyy in the negotiations with the United States, is also the country's national security adviser, may be involved in the investigation of embezzlement.

https://rmx.news/article/slova....k-pm-fico-says-he-wa