The Daily Signal - $100 Million in Ukrainian Fraud & a Possible Peace Deal | Nov. 20, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 At Capital One, we're more than just a credit card company. We're people just like you who believe in the power of yes. Yes to new opportunities. Yes to second chances. Yes to a fresh start. That's why we've helped over 4 million Canadians get access to a credit card. Because at Capital One, we say yes, so you don't have to hear another no. What will you do with your yes?

Starting point is 00:00:24 Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca. Terms and conditions apply. Normally, I wouldn't be filming a quick video in a tuxedo from my Washington, D.C. office, which I spend all of about five days a calendar year in. But alas, last night I was at the Dow Prize Awards for Independent and Alternative Media Journalism, kind of a replacement for the Pulitzer. And we will have a lot to say about this on Friday. So for the top news in 10 today, we would like to share with you our interview that we did

Starting point is 00:00:59 with a great investigation from Steve Cortez on $100 million at least stolen from citizens in Ukraine, as well as an update on the situation regarding a possible peace deal in the works. It is Thursday, November 20, 2025. I'm Tony Kennett, host of the Daily Signals Tony Kenned cast nationally syndicated at 7 p.m. Eastern. It is Thursday, November 20th, 2025. This This is the Daily Signals. Top News in 10. News out of Ukraine, of all places, because of course there is. So we're going to go to one of the guy who does the most investigating that just happens to have dug up some real shenanigans over there yet again. Steve Cortez, Cortez Investigates.com.

Starting point is 00:01:50 The man, the bad ombre himself, has it going, Steve. Hey, Tony, great. Thanks for having me. Let's hop right into it. You've got some information on, before we even get to the peace deal possibility, magical scoop from whatever today, I want to get your perspective on this Operation Midas, $100 million corruption scandal. Yes. Yeah, at least $100 million stolen. That's what has been substantiated so far by independent investigators within Ukraine.

Starting point is 00:02:17 And thankfully, there are still some honest, transparent, independent law enforcement forces there in the country of Ukraine, even though they're under tremendous pressure from the Zalachian. Zelensky administration. But what they have uncovered in this Operation Midas, and part of why they call it that, by the way, is there is a toilet literally made of gold that is part of the evidence of this fleecing of the public treasury. A guy named Timmer Mindich, and you'll probably be hearing more about this name Mindich. He is a very connected, very shadowy figure within Ukraine, extremely close to President Zelensky and to Zelenskyy's number two, Yermak, who's really effectively the co-president. And all together, they form a very correct.

Starting point is 00:02:57 that largely runs that country and steals from their own people, of course, in a time of war, you know, to make it all the worse, regular patriotic Ukrainians right now are dealing with all of the hardships of being at war, worried about being attacked every night, about their power going out regularly as winter worsens over there and temperatures drop, all of the privations of war, the fact that many of them have buried their loved ones in this war. And at the same time that the country is fighting for its survival, the leaders of the country, or the so-called leaders are openly and brazenly stealing from the government coffers, in this case specifically from the Department of Energy to pay for things like not just that golden

Starting point is 00:03:36 toilet, but also an entire housing development that Mindich and other cronies of Zelensky are building that they literally call Dynasty, as in the American TV series Dynasty. So these are the kinds of kleptocrats that you're talking about that Zelensky is extremely tight with. And that's why the investigative unit, which is known as the Naboo, the National Amiens. Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, that investigative unit, which is revealing all of these and which is trying to charge these men, they themselves were raided by Zelensky. In other words, he sent his police forces to try to stop them, to try to thwart them, to try to find out what they knew about this investigation because he realizes how much it's tightening around him.

Starting point is 00:04:17 He also tried to strip the Naboo of its power. In fact, he went to the Rada, which is their parliament, and for a very short period of time, he actually got legislation passed that was going to, essentially, defang the Nabu. Now, there was a lot of international outrage, especially from Western Europe, so he reversed himself, thankfully, there. But the reality is people extremely close to the president. I mean, these are people for whom, for example, Zelensky and Mindich, they are godfather to each other's children. Okay, that's how close they are. They have an almost brotherly kind of relationship, extremely close in business, politics, personally, all of it. We have these people who have not fled the country, by the I might also add. So you might say, well, where is Mindich? Is he in

Starting point is 00:04:56 jail. Now, no, he's not in jail, and he was clearly tipped off, that we don't know for sure by whom, but I think a reasonable person can suspect that it came from the highest levels of the Ukrainian government, that he was tipped off, that you're about to get nab. So he got out hours before the raids were launched against his, by Nabu, against his apartments, including the gold toilet apartment. And so he is now safely in Israel. And for now, at least, living in luxury and, you know, probably not facing at least an imminent extradition back to Ukraine. But the point is this scandal continues to explode. It is, you know, as you can imagine, it is the talk of the town in Kiev right now and really all across Ukraine. I think a lot of Ukrainians, even ones who have

Starting point is 00:05:36 been supportive of Zelensky, now realize that this is a thoroughly corrupt leader. And again, to do this in a time of war, you know, makes it all the worst. And so our perspective, as Americans, let's remember, we are giving hundreds of billions of dollars to this country. We have been the primary support for this nation in this time of war because of the web. the cash and the intelligence that we have generously showered upon Ukraine in its time of need. And whether you think that's smart policy or not, the point is we can't have a long-term partnership with a leader who we clearly cannot trust in Zelensky. I've been making the case for years that he has thoroughly and systemically corrupt. We now have the evidence from within his own country

Starting point is 00:06:20 about just how vast and pernicious this corruption is. So right off the top of the top of the the top of my head here. When you say Zelensky sent in kind of his personal police forces in to target the investigation crew here, were these like local Kiev police, were they kind of like a state police, like an FBI style police, his own secret service. What did he send? Yeah, it's a bit of all the above, believe it or not. It's called the SBU there. Yes. And so there is a combined security apparatus that he controls. He doesn't control the Naboo, thankfully. But the SBU, it's really our CIA and FBI put together. So it's external security, it's internal security, it's incredibly powerful. And my sources, by the way, whom I believe, because I was well informed of this entire investigation

Starting point is 00:07:06 before it became public knowledge, so I trust my sources as accurate. And my sources tell me that the head of the SBU is the one who came to Zelensky and Yermak to inform them, hey, the Nabu has tapes of Mindich, said, I don't know what's on the tapes, but they have been bugging in the Mnich's apartments. They have evidence. And he suggested to them, we need to do a raid to try to retrieve those tapes to, even if there are copies, let's at least know what's in them. Perhaps there aren't copies and we can seize the evidence and then the case goes away. So the SPU is what raided the NABU, unfortunately, totally controlled by Zelensky, very, very politicized and corrupt itself. I will also add this. They arrested the primary detective. He's still

Starting point is 00:07:53 sitting in jail right now. The primary detective for the Nabu, who was investigating the Mindjj case, is a guy named Razzalov. He is sitting in jail right now. He has been charged with sham allegations that he was somehow cooperating with the Russians. This has become Zelensi's kind of default.

Starting point is 00:08:09 When he wants to harass, intimidate, arrest his political rivals, he accuses all of them of somehow complicity with the Russians. And it's relatively easy to do in Ukraine. For this reason, a lot of Americans don't realize how intertwined those two countries are. I mean, intermarriage rates. I mean, the business ties, all of it. So it's very easy for almost any Ukrainian

Starting point is 00:08:29 to come up with ties they have to Russia, right? They may have been there a lot. They may be married to a Russian. You know, there can be all kinds of family and, you know, and other ties. So it's not a difficult, if you want to be scurrilous and smear people and harass them with the law and you're engaging in sort of Ukrainian lawfare, unfortunately it's relatively easy to do. But I'm actually writing another op-ed on this topic right now that I'll be posting in Ukraine saying that Razelov needs to be freed and America needs to demand. I mean, think about that. So, you know, the scumbag thief, Mindich, is sitting living in luxury right now in Israel and the honest cop who was investigating him is sitting in a prison in Ukraine. That's pretty upside down,

Starting point is 00:09:10 I'd say, Tony. This is one of the things that I was looking up while you were giving me some of the details on that last question. Sorry if the typing noises came through the microphone. I just can't sit still when I get some of this information. I have to look up certain things. One of the questions that I had for you going into this, there's this conversation about if you criticize certain methods in which the Ukrainian government is carrying on during the war, then this must mean you're pro-Putin or pro-the-Russian invasion of Ukraine, that kind of a thing. And that frustrates me. And it frustrates me because I've been outside the United States. And while I haven't had as extensive amount of time in Eastern Europe as say our, you know, friend

Starting point is 00:09:48 Kurt Schlichter, for example, I could say that, yeah, Eastern European nations and corruption, they go hand in hand, like America and Apple Pie. And so stealing from the Department of Energy, though, while Russia is striking power plants in the eastern Ukrainian regions, my goodness, I'm not sure I was expecting you to bring up those particular departments as an area for fleecing and corruption. This is really beyond the pale, isn't it? And literally right now, and again, they have a very harsh winter, you know, in Ukraine. And right now things, of course, it's getting... Yes, Eastern Europe and Russia rather, famous for their harsh winters, exactly. So it's getting cold. And the Russians, through their drone strikes, have been pretty effective at striking gas lines in Ukraine. Most

Starting point is 00:10:35 Ukrainians, like most Americans, get their heat generally from natural gas. Ukraine has a lot of natural gas, but if they can't get it to the houses, it doesn't much matter. And that has increasingly been a problem, a real hardship. for Ukrainians. Again, this isn't just all we're uncomfortable. I mean, no, this is dangerous, right, when you're talking about a Ukrainian winter without proper heat into homes. So these are the issues that Ukrainians are facing right now. You have entire villages in Ukraine where there are no men left. All the men are at the front, right? And they're sending men all the way up to the age of 60. And they don't tend to have long lifespans like we do in the United States. So 60 is quite old.

Starting point is 00:11:11 It's extremely old to be sending to war. It would be old here to be sending to war. It's certainly old in Ukraine. So I mean, think of those aspects, right, of what regular Ukrainians are going through to defend their nation, patriotic people. And you're exactly right. Criticizing Zelensky does not mean that we're praising Putin, right? It says we need to be realistic, though, about who we are partnering with. And we can say strategically it makes sense to aid Ukraine. And I'm not making that argument, by the way, I'm not sure we should have ever been involved to the level we are. But putting that aside, even if you believe that it's in the strategic interest of the United stage to be deeply involved in this conflict and to be, you know, really the primary financial

Starting point is 00:11:52 backer and intelligence backer of Ukraine's war effort. Even if you think that's correct, you should still demand partners that we can trust and people who are not going to steal from the very money that we American taxpayers are providing. You know, and let's remember, too, it's not like we're giving this money out of our surplus. We have $38 trillion in debt in the United States. A lot of Americans are having a hard time paying for the staples of life. Let's forget about the Ukrainian hardships for a moment. A lot of Americans right now are struggling to pay for the necessities of life. We're borrowing trillions of dollars every single year. We're sending hundreds of billions of that over to Ukraine that borrowed money. One thing we damn well better

Starting point is 00:12:34 demand is that they are using our money wisely and that we are not feeding into a giant racket, a scam, a kleptocracy. And unfortunately, the more we learn about Zelensky and his circle of people, Zelensky and Yermak, the more we learn about them, I think the more it is clear that this is a tyrannical government, it is in no way transparent, it's not honest, not trustworthy, does not have the best interests of Americans at heart. And what I'm submitting, and when I wrote in the op-eds that I already published there in Ukraine, and I'm told by my sources, by the way, that I really get Zelensky's ire.

Starting point is 00:13:11 reads my op-ads, which I'm glad he does. I hope it bothers him and keeps him up a little bit at night. But my point is, it seems as though we're getting close to a piece, thanks to President Trump. If we are, then elections must be held. I was going to pivot to. No, go ahead. You go ahead. And elections must be held. Okay. Zelensky has put off elections, which I think is totally wrong. Now, technically by Ukrainian law, he's allowed to do this. But the United States has always held elections during wartime, even during the Civil War, even when the war was here on our soil, We still had a presidential election, but regardless, the election is now years overdue, and Zelensky needs to face the people of Ukraine. And ultimately, it will be their judgment that matters more than

Starting point is 00:13:51 anything. You clearly know where I stand, where I think sensible Americans should stand regarding Zelensky, but let him face, in a sense, the jury. And the jury will be the people of Ukraine if we have an honest election, and it needs to be scheduled as soon as possible. You know, again, I think thanks to President Trump, it looks like peace is imminent. over there. That would be amazing. But if that happens, as far as restoring and rebuilding Ukraine, we cannot allow the, we cannot win the peace in Ukraine if we allow a dishonest tyrant surrounded by scamster mobsters to run that country. Let me add one aspect, too, to add some comedy to this, you know, horrific and sad situation. The nicknames that these guys give

Starting point is 00:14:35 things, you know, I told you about the dynasty nickname, the main financier, essentially, essentially the CFO for Mindich and for his criminal enterprise. He goes by Sugar Man. That is his name. The Sugar Man. Yeah. Another guy in this ring goes by Shea Guevara. I don't know why you'd pick a Cuban terrorist as your nickname.

Starting point is 00:14:54 But I mean, it's just absurd. To impress the 20-year-old ladies here in the university campuses at home, I guess. But, you know, is this a Netflix series? Is it a bad Scorsese knockoff? Or is this supposed to be a country that deserves hundreds of billions of dollars from the United States, you know? I mean, these are honest questions that need to be answered. So that does, in fact, again, you're knowing exactly where I'm going. Again, one of the good things about being an investigator is seeing, you know, where certain things are headed. Of course,

Starting point is 00:15:25 Axios this morning reported that a brand new Russia-Ukraine peace deal proposals being in the works between Russia and the United States, the Financial Times supposedly has confirmed the report, although I've read the Financial Times report I haven't seen what it is they're confirming as though they haven't named any additional sources who are like that this is true what is going on I'm not seeing any of that they're saying the demands on Ukraine is that it cut its army in half

Starting point is 00:15:52 it gives up certain weapons hands over the rest of the Denezc region held by Ukraine I've heard Trump talking about things in the Saudi Arabian kind of summit situation regarding business development today about ending eight wars I'm not really seeing the validity of this. Am I wrong? What are you seeing as like the U.S. approaching certain peace deals and negotiating in this stead?

Starting point is 00:16:14 I know it's kind of a pivot. I'm asking for your hypothesis here, but give us a window into how you're thinking about this one. Sure. No, happy to. And just, you know, too, here also, both on the Ukrainian side and in Washington, D.C., I've got pretty good sources on this stuff that mostly corroborate the Axios reporting. So I do believe that it's accurate. And also, by the way, we know from public information, I mean, this is publicly known that much of the president's team, including Whitkoff, the chief negotiator, was just in Miami with some top officials from Ukraine, some of the folks that work for Zelensky. That is publicly, you know, confirmed. We know, of course, that the Pentagon is now sending very senior personnel, both military brass, as well as civilian people, over to Ukraine for high-level talks. So, I mean, it's clear that something serious here is in the works. And I think,

Starting point is 00:17:02 the reporting from Axios is mostly accurate. Axios, I can't stand their ideological bias, but they're pretty well sourced into the Trump White House. I will say, yeah, and that's what I was going to follow it up with. I mean, again, although it looks like some rather jump to it reporting, and again, I don't mean to throw, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:18 mud at the Financial Times here, but what it was that they said they had confirmed, I read the article and thought, well, you didn't confirm anything new that Axios hadn't already set and sourced themselves, but you're right, Axios does have a good on-the-ground reporting team. They don't usually make up underground, unreserved,

Starting point is 00:17:35 you know, nonchalant, non-disclosed sources like the New York Times does, for example. Yeah, I mean, again, you know, I would caution the viewers out there. I mean, believe me, I'm not saying Axios is a reputable sorts of journalism because their bias shows through on almost every single article. Well, you can say something sounds good without saying, therefore I trust everything. Right, exactly.

Starting point is 00:17:53 But I'm just saying, they're generally pretty well sourced when it comes to Trump administration's scoops. They clearly have good White House sourcing in general. So anyway, anyway, I think it's just. generally true, and it seems as though the bargain, essentially, that Trump and Russia have come up with for now, in which we need the Ukrainian is to buy into, is that Ukraine is actually going to give up additional territory that Russia does not now occupy, and that is obviously a very difficult pill to swallow for most Ukrainians, certainly for Zelensky. But in return...

Starting point is 00:18:21 But that exit ramp is necessary, and a lot of people, given the sparse polling that we have in Ukraine, not to mention the rest of Eastern Europe, they do support that off ramp because what else is there. Correct. And in return that the United States is going to offer an explicit security guarantee to Ukraine against Russia. Like a Marshall Plan kind of economic security detail along with the military. Correct. And so, and that is new, by the way. I mean, because even Joe Biden was not willing to say, you know, who was as pro Zelensky as they get, he was not willing to say, yes, full security guarantee. I don't even think he could say full security guarantee, to be fair with you. Whoever was pulling the strings was unwilling to do that. So no, this, it looks like it's going to be a

Starting point is 00:19:01 breakthrough. But by the way, the two situations are interrelated, the scandal we've been talking about, the gold toilet scandal and these negotiations. What I mean by that is Zelensky has in these negotiations that Trump forced upon them, right? I mean, think of that, that there were no negotiations before Trump, no talking between these two countries at war. I mean, that's absurd. So thank goodness the peace president said, hold on a second. We are going to sit down. And Zelensky, you're going to sit down whether you want to or not because we're paying the tab. We're paying for your war. But the point is here, Zelensky has mostly in these negotiations taken a very maximalist approach of saying, no, no, we want all the territory back. We want Crimea back. I mean,

Starting point is 00:19:36 just being ridiculous, right? Something that has been gone for over a decade now. It's something which, by the way, a territory which clearly wants to be Russian in terms of Crimea. But he's been very maximalist in his approach and his demands. But now that he's in a very, very weak political position at home, right? Now that, you know, he's been encircled with this evidence, not just allegations, not just suspicion, but actual evidence of significant corruption by the highest ranking people around him, he is not in a position to take that maximalist approach. And the White House, according to my sources, believes that's one of the reasons that we're going to tell him, you are taking this deal, whether you like it or not,

Starting point is 00:20:15 this is how we get to peace. And Zelensky's not in a strong position where he can stand up and say, you know, no, the war goes on. I'll somehow carry on without you, which he couldn't, of course. But for those reasons, this is an opportune time, actually, so that the two situations are interconnected. And hey, if this massive scandal actually leads to peace, at least there's some silver line. I'm never going to justify people stealing $100 million from their country in a time of war. But there may be a silver lining that it might push the Zelensky regime toward peace that it's been resisting. You know, Steve, that was about one half of the things that we may have had set up to talk about today. So if I could be presumptuous, hopefully if our

Starting point is 00:20:54 tech is back, maybe when I'm back home in the studio in Indiana and not in this festering swamp, we can actually talk about the other half and talk about some of the youth shift on everything excellent stuff on Ukraine your investigatory work as always brilliant appreciate it more than you know Steve Cortez again you should go to his site Cortez that's C-O-R-T-E-S

Starting point is 00:21:16 Investigates.com thanks a ton for joining us Tony thank you I didn't know you from Indiana go Hoosiers into the football playoffs that's right coach Sig let's go before you go Head down to the description and make sure you're subscribed to the Tony Kinnett cast and join us tomorrow evening Friday at 7 p.m. for a roundup of the week's news and nonsense. Not going to be an episode of the Tony Kinnett cast today.

Starting point is 00:21:42 I'm Tony Kinnett, and this has been The Daily Signals. Top News in 10.

The Daily Signal - $100 Million in Ukrainian Fraud & a Possible Peace Deal | Nov. 20, 2025

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.