- This story is developing, more to follow
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation amid a corruption scandal.
Investigators searched Yermak’s home this morning. Yermak said he was fully cooperating with the officials from the National Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
The agencies are probing a massive £75million energy corruption scandal that has been the latest embarrassment for the embattled president.
Both NABU and SAPO alleged that a group, including Ukrainian government officials, were collecting bribes from the state nuclear power company, Energoatom.
The group of officials are said to have collected 10-15% of the value of each contract given, amounting to £75million that was unlawfully given to the tiny group – money that could have been used to help defend Ukraine from Russian attacks.
Yermak’s political opponents have been trying to link him to the scandal that has rocked the embattled nation, claiming that either he or one of his underlings is the anonymous individual referred to as ‘Ali Baba’ in wiretapped conversations related to the investigation.
The 54-year-old previously denied involvement in the scheme, telling German newspaper Welt last week: ‘People mention me, and sometimes, absolutely without any evidence, they try to accuse me of things I don’t even know about’.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak walk, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 22, 2024
The alleged ringleader and mastermind of the corruption scheme is businessman Timur Mindich, a long-time contact of Zelensky’s.
Even before Zelensky’s shock rise to high office in 2019, Mindich is said to have been one of his closest associates.
Zelenksy and Mindich’s close friendship is well documented and, according to Ukrainian officials, experts and activists, Mindich’s rise to power is closely linked to his relationship with Zelensky’s inner circle.
The president used Mindich’s armored car during the final stretch of his presidential campaign in 2019, and in 2021, Zelensky celebrated his birthday in the businessman’s apartment during COVID. The two own properties in the same building.
Mindich was also a close business associate of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky, who backed Zelensky’s presidential campaign.
Zelensky later cut ties with the billionaire and in 2023, Kolomoysky was arrested by Ukrainian security services on fraud and money-laundering charges.
This didn’t stop the Ukrainian president from placing sanctions against Mindich, who has since fled Ukraine. Any criminal proceedings against Mindich, who has reportedly fled to Poland, are likely to be carried out in absentia.
Yermak was once considered Ukraine’s second-most powerful man, having stood by Zelensky’s side since he took office in 2019.
More to follow.
