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Zelensky's former chief of staff in court as Ukraine corruption probe escalates

2026-05-12 18:54:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Zelensky's former chief of staff in court as Ukraine corruption probe

President Volodymyr Zelensky's former right-hand man, Andriy Yermak, appeared in a court in Kiev on Tuesday after being named by Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies as a suspect in a money laundering scheme.

Yermak's lawyer had previously denounced as "baseless" allegations that the former head of the presidential office was involved in a corruption scandal related to a $10.5 million luxury construction project outside Kiev.

Hours before the court hearing, Yermak told reporters: "I don't have a house, I only have an apartment and a car," adding later that he would comment later.

For years he was a close friend of Zelensky and led Ukraine's talks with the US until an anti-corruption raid on his apartment last November prompted his resignation.

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine (Sapo) said it was asking the Kiev court to either place him in preventive detention or grant him bail of around $4 million (£3 million).

The head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) stressed that Zelensky himself was not part of the preliminary investigation.

Yermak had been the president's closest adviser throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, until he was drawn into a wider investigation by Sapo and Nabu into an alleged $100m (£74m) embezzlement scheme in Ukraine's nuclear energy sector.

He was not charged or formally named as a suspect at the time, but the allegations have cast a shadow over Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. Last year, Zelensky was forced to repeal a law that weakened the independence of two anti-corruption agencies, following widespread protests and criticism from the EU.

As part of Operation Midas, former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was charged with abuse of office, while businessman Timur Mindich reportedly fled the country after being reported as a suspect, and former Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko was detained while trying to leave.

Like Yermak, Mindich was once part of Zelensky's inner circle and co-owner of the president's former television studio, Kvartal95, before sanctions were imposed on him. Mindich denies any wrongdoing.

The latest allegations center on an elite housing project called "Dynasty" in a village outside Kiev, where millions of dollars in construction funds are suspected of being laundered. The anti-corruption bureau shared part of a wiretapped conversation as part of its case and said six other people had been identified as suspects.

Yermak's defense lawyer, Ihor Fomin, told Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne on Tuesday that the "baseless" accusations against the former chief of staff were all caused by public pressure, the likes of which he had never seen before.

"When the investigative actions are completed, I will give a comment," Yermak told reporters on Monday evening.

Presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvun said that, since the case was ongoing, it would be premature to comment on "ongoing procedural actions."