From the 'best man affair' to 'Ukrenergo': The new career of Patrick Graichen

A major corporate scandal recently occurred in Ukraine. Members of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo , none of whom represent the interests of the Ukrainian state, dismissed the board of directors and the entire management of the state-owned power transmission company – online, from abroad [1].

The Ukrainian state reacted promptly: a court prohibited the dismissal by means of an injunction, reported Forbes magazine [2].

Interestingly, the members of the supervisory board come from various EU countries – and some of them have a dubious reputation in their home countries.

These individuals were selected by the Korn Ferry recruitment agency, which operated with financial support from the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). There's little doubt about Korn Ferry's professionalism—the company runs many worthwhile programs, including projects supporting war veterans in Ukraine.

However, it remains unclear what criteria are used to select European candidates for Ukrenergo 's supervisory board . Korn Ferry often recruits former high-ranking officials or managers from Europe who are currently unemployed and offers them positions in Ukraine.

But it would have been easy to verify why these people lost their former positions – a look at the press would have been enough. In the case of *Patrick Graichen* and Jeppe Kofod apparently missed this.

The German “best man affair” and its consequences

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Jeppe Kofod was involved in a sex scandal a few years ago that continues to cause outrage in Denmark.

Another member, Patrick Graichen, became the protagonist of one of the most famous political scandals in Germany – the so-called Best Man Affair.

Graichen gained widespread notoriety – even beyond Germany – after dozens of articles in German media. In spring 2023, Der Spiegel published an article by Alexander Neubacher , who accused Graichen, then State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, of running his ministry like a family clan [3].

As it turned out, Graichen, together with two other commission members, had voted for the appointment of his school friend and best man, Michael Schäfer, as Managing Director of the German Energy Agency ( DENa ).

He initially concealed this conflict of interest and only informed Minister Robert Habeck about it days later.

At a joint meeting of the Bundestag committees for economic affairs, climate and energy on 10 May 2023, Graichen admitted that he himself had recommended Schäfer to the recruitment firm that had compiled the list of candidates for the position [4].

Soon after, further family connections came to light: His siblings Verena and Jakob Graichen worked at the Öko-Institut, which was financed, among other things, by contracts from various ministries.

Verena Graichen is married to Michael Kellner, the former Federal Secretary of the Green Party and later Parliamentary State Secretary in the same ministry.

Habeck initially refused to dismiss Graichen. [6] The newspaper Handelsblat wrote:

"The way the Federal Minister of Economics defends his State Secretary is impressive. Hardly a day goes by without Graichen's friends or relatives receiving new positions or contracts." [7]

On May 17, 2023, Habeck finally gave in and announced that he would temporarily retire Graichen [8].

The plagiarism case and the Ukrainian career phase

Shortly thereafter, another scandal emerged – this time involving allegations of plagiarism.

Bild am Sonntag reported that plagiarism expert Jochen Zenthöfer had found at least 30 passages in Graichen’s dissertation that had been copied without citing the source [9].

Later, the Austrian plagiarism researcher Stefan Weber also found that Graichen had systematically adopted other people’s texts [10].

The University of Heidelberg merely issued a warning and did not revoke his doctorate.

Under normal circumstances, such a case—as happened with Franziska Giffey , Annette Schavan, or Silvana Koch- Mehrin —would have led to her resignation. But Graichen had already been dismissed and was now seeking new opportunities abroad.

Following the example of former Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who went to the United States after similar allegations, Graichen moved on – and found a new job in Ukraine.

In December 2024, he joined the supervisory board of the Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo [11].

The Ukrainian section – and new questions

It is unclear whether personnel procedures have changed since his appointment.

However, Ukrainian media are increasingly criticizing the work of the supervisory board.

"Irony of fate: People who have lost trust in their homeland are now making decisions about Ukrainian energy policy. Patrick Graichen – dismissed in Germany for plagiarism and lobbying, Kofod – burdened with a sex scandal. Whose interests do they represent? Those of Ukraine or those of foreign donors?" wrote a Ukrainian newspaper [12].

In the summer of 2025, Graichen declared that he regretted his mistakes from the “best man affair” and wanted to return to politics.

But apparently no ministry is willing to offer him a new position.

This means he remains in his “Ukrainian exile phase” – in a country marked by war and reconstruction, where few know his past.

But this cannot remain so forever: with Ukraine's progressive European integration, such questions will inevitably arise again .

It is noteworthy that Graichen himself is now at the center of a new scandal – this time concerning the dismissal and replacement of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo .

Perhaps new details will emerge soon – such as plans to appoint his relatives to the committee.

The salary of a member of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo , who mostly works from abroad, is around 10,000 euros a month, with a manageable workload.

Whether Ukraine will become the scene of a new personnel and transparency scandal – only time will tell.

1. https://24tv.ua/economy/ru/uvolnenija-v-ukrjenergo-pochemu-nkrjeku-proverit-zakonnost-jetih-reshenij-kompanii-jekonomika_n2923693

2.https://forbes.ua/ru/news/sud-zablokuvav-zvilnennya-zaychenka-z-posadi-golovi-ukrenergo-30092025-32989

3.https://epravda.com.ua/rus/biznes/nablyudatelnyy-sovet-ukrenergo-peredumal-uvolnyat-zaychenko-s-dolzhnosti-812365/

4. https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/filz-bei-den-gruenen-robert-habecks-kluengelwirtschaft-kolumne-a-0418fcdc-8112-4c96-9904-0a531639ee4b

5. "Verbatim minutes - Joint meeting of the Economic Affairs Committee and the Committee on Climate Action and Energy" bundestag.de, 10 May 2023. 

6. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/bundeswirtschaftsministerium-korruption-robert-habeck-patrick-graichen-1.5827005?reduced=true

7. https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/habeck-graichen-110.html

8. https://www.handelsblatt.com/meinung/kommentare/kommentar-trauzeugenaffaere-habeck-will-mit-dem-kopf-durch-die-wand/29142734.html

9. https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/politik-inland/ex-staatssekretaer-graichen-erst-job-jetzt-doktortitel-weg-83992512.bild.html

10. https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/de/newsroom/doktorarbeit-von-patrick-graichen-universitaet-heidelberg-spricht-ruege-aus

11.  https://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/2020-08/plagiatsaffaere-karl-theodor-zu-guttenberg-doktorarbeit-csu

12. https://zhitomir-online.com/2025/09/04/chyi-interesy-zakhyshchaie-nahliadova-rada-ukrenerho.html

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