Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Ukraine’s top anti-corruption authorities searched the home of Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s powerful chief of staff and lead negotiator in peace talks with Washington, as part of a widening investigation into the country’s energy sector.
About a dozen officers from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) entered Yermak’s Kyiv home on Friday in the highly secure government quarter just before dawn, people familiar with the situation said.
The development is likely to further weaken Zelenskyy at a pivotal moment for Ukraine, as he seeks to reassure western partners that he is rooting out entrenched corruption, while US President Donald Trump puts renewed pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace deal.
The raid follows other searches related to a major graft probe, called “Operation Midas”, that has embroiled Zelenskyy’s cabinet, toppled several senior government officials and led to a warrant for the arrest of the president’s former business partner, who has fled the country.
The case has heightened concern among Kyiv’s western allies over persistent graft, as Ukraine continues to seek substantial financial and military support.
Zelenskyy relies greatly on his chief of staff, who is the closest member of his inner circle. Yermak often behaves like he is president, according to numerous Ukrainian and western officials, drafting peace plans, directing back-channel diplomacy, handpicking cabinet officials and taking military decisions.
“Talk about Zelenskyy and you’re talking about Yermak. Talk about Yermak and it’s Zelenskyy. They’ve become one,” Oleh Rybachuk, chief of staff to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, told the Financial Times in July.
Three MPs from Zelenskyy’s ruling party told the FT that the searches were likely to ignite fresh calls for Yermak’s dismissal and could also have an impact on the intensifying peace talks.
“Pressure has accumulated in society and now it can explode any time,” said a lawmaker from Zelenskyy’s ruling party.
“Could this [put] pressure on the president to make him agree to something more quickly? Probably yes,” said one MP, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The MPs said they supported Nabu and Sapo’s investigation, with one saying that “it shows international partners that law-enforcement bodies operate independently”.
“No one should be above suspicion because it’s a matter of national security,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, an MP from the president’s party who chairs the foreign affairs committee in parliament.
An official from the anti-corruption bureau confirmed that the search of Yermak’s home was under way and was “being carried out within the framework of the investigation”.
Yermak said in a statement on social media that the two anti-corruption agencies were “indeed conducting procedural actions at my home”, adding that there were “no obstacles for investigators”.
“They were given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are present on site, co-operating with law enforcement,” he added. “For my part, there is full co-operation.”
The two anti-corruption agencies are examining claims of about $100mn in embezzled and laundered funds. At the centre of the case is Zelenskyy’s former business partner Timur Mindich, who Nabu and Sapo have said is the ringleader and who has fled Ukraine. Mindich could not be reached for comment.
Two former senior ministers are among several other people charged with their alleged involvement. The ministers have all publicly denied involvement.
Rustem Umerov, another member of Zelenskyy’s peace delegation and head of the National Security and Defence Council, was questioned by Nabu and Sapo investigators in the case after returning from talks with the US in Geneva. He has not been charged in the case.
The scheme under investigation involved alleged kickbacks from contractors hired to build fortifications protecting energy assets from Russian missile and drone strikes, which have intensified in recent months and caused rolling blackouts across Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president had sought to strip the anti-corruption agencies of their independence in July, but backtracked after public outrage and large protests.
Zelenskyy told MPs in a closed-door meeting last week that he would not dismiss Yermak, despite calls for his resignation. Dozens of MPs supported removing Yermak and broader personnel changes in the president’s office, according to four who were present, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Yermak “made himself indispensable for the president by getting rid of all others who are close to the president”, said one lawmaker from Zelenskyy’s party.
“Yermak has also played the role of lightning rod. Everything could be conveniently blamed on him instead of the president,” the MP added. “And if he goes, then the criticism could fall on Zelenskyy.”
Two people familiar with the corruption probe said Zelenskyy had been warned early on that Yermak might be implicated. The president’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
“The key question [for Zelenskyy] is this: What do you put first, the country or your friends?” one of them said.
Credit: Source link
