{"id":318428,"date":"2025-11-28T10:29:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T10:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/318428\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T10:29:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T10:29:04","slug":"expect-charges-very-soon-investigators-search-zelenskys-chief-of-staff-in-ukraines-biggest-corruption-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/318428\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Expect charges very soon’ \u2014 Investigators search Zelensky’s chief of staff in Ukraine’s biggest corruption case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This story is being updated. <\/p>\n

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on Nov. 28 that it was conducting searches at the premises of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak. <\/p>\n

Yermak is being investigated by the NABU<\/a> in a corruption case involving state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom, the biggest corruption investigation during Zelensky’s presidency. Eight suspects have been charged<\/a> in the Energoatom case<\/a>, and Timur Mindich<\/a>, a close associate of the president, is allegedly the ringleader<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Today, the NABU and SAPO are indeed carrying out procedural actions at my home,” Yermak wrote<\/a> on Telegram. “The investigators are facing no obstacles. They have been given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are present on site and are cooperating with law enforcement. I am providing full cooperation on my part.”<\/p>\n

The President’s Office and Zelensky’s press service did not respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n

Ukrainian media outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported, citing its sources, that Yermak’s office on Bankova Street in Kyiv and his apartment were being searched. <\/p>\n

Yermak<\/a> has faced calls to resign but Zelensky has refused to fire him and has appointed him to lead in peace negotiations instead. <\/p>\n

One of the luxury houses<\/a> near Kyiv financed through the Energoatom corruption<\/a> scheme was meant for Yermak, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent. The President’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported<\/a> on Nov. 24, citing law enforcement sources, that Yermak is implicated in the corruption scandal, and investigators refer to him as “Ali Baba.” <\/p>\n

Ukraine’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor Oleksandr Klymenko said earlier in November that, according to investigators, “Ali Baba is holding meetings and assigning tasks to law enforcement agencies to ensure they persecute NABU detectives and anti-corruption prosecutors.” <\/p>\n

Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, said that “usually searches are conducted right before charges are presented to possible suspects.”<\/p>\n

“So therefore we can expect today or very soon charges against Andriy Yermak,” she told the Kyiv Independent. <\/p>\n

A lawmaker from Zelensky’s Servant of the People party said that “there hasn’t really been much of a reaction” in the party so far. <\/p>\n

“Most people seemed to understand everything already,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Kyiv Independent. “For the most part, there’s silence. Only a few individuals have taken note of recent events. Some might be in shock.”<\/p>\n

The lawmaker also said that “some may have hoped there would be no further fallout, thinking that (Yermak’s) appointment as head of the peace delegation meant the end of the story.”<\/p>\n

“But it turns out that this is only the beginning,” he added. <\/p>\n

The lawmaker said that Yermak “should have been dismissed a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, this all looks bad in the eyes of our European partners, the source said. “It looks as if the president is protecting his friends. Instead of getting ahead of the situation and distancing himself, he appointed him as the head of the negotiating delegation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also argued that Ukraine\u2019s political system is “now moving toward the worst-case scenario” and that Yermak\u2019s resignation “could lead to the collapse of the entire power structure, since everything has been held together by the head of the President\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the opposition Holos party, said that \u201cthe president certainly should fire (Yermak).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that it will certainly change the way Zelensky rules the country,” he added. “But it’s good news.” <\/p>\n

Zheleznyak also said that he expects protests and that he hopes “public support is totally on the side of the NABU and SAPO (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office).” <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Who is Andriy Yermak and can Ukraine\u2019s corruption scandal finally sink him?<\/p>\n

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