McKinsey’s engagement with former Ukrainian strongman Victor Yanukovych is an example of a relationship the firm should never have entered into. Yanukovych hired McKinsey to buff his image in the West at a time when he was currying favor with the Russians and engaging in massive corruption. As the Times writes, McKinsey also has worked with corrupt, Kremlin-affiliated businesspeople like Rinat Akhmetov, some of whom have been placed under Western sanctions.
In Ukraine, McKinsey and Paul Manafort — President Trump’s campaign chairman, later convicted of financial fraud — were paid by the same oligarch to help burnish the image of a disgraced presidential candidate, Viktor F. Yanukovych, recasting him as a reformer.
Once in office, Mr. Yanukovych rebuffed the West, sided with Russia and fled the country, accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. The events set off years of chaos in Ukraine and an international standoff with the Kremlin.
Inside Russia itself, McKinsey has worked with Kremlin-linked companies that have been placed under sanctions by Western governments — companies that the firm helped build up over the years and, in some cases, continues to advise.