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Former Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak has been named as a suspect in a major corruption investigation led by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
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In a joint statement, the agencies said investigators had uncovered an organised group suspected of laundering around €9 million (460 million hryvnias) between 2021 and 2025 through a luxury property development project near Kyiv.
“One of its members — the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine — has been notified of suspicion,” the statement said. Yermak was a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before he was dismissed from office earlier this year.
While the agencies did not officially identify Yermak, in line with Ukrainian legal practice, Ukrainian media widely reported that he was the individual referred to in the announcement.
NABU and SAPO said six other individuals were also notified as suspects on Tuesday and that the investigation remains ongoing.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Yermak declined to comment in detail, saying he would wait until the investigation had concluded.
Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to President Zelenskyy, said it was “too early to assess the ongoing procedural actions”.
The move stops short of formal charges against Yermak, who resigned from his post in November.
He had previously served as Ukraine’s lead negotiator in talks with the United States and stepped down amid mounting pressure linked to the anti-corruption investigation — one of the most significant political challenges faced by Zelenskyy’s administration since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
While Zelenskyy himself has not been implicated, the investigation has cast a shadow over his administration after several influential figures linked to the president were drawn into the probe.
What is the investigation about?
NABU and SAPO allege that around €9 million was funnelled over several years using a network of shell companies, cash transactions, and fictitious financial documents.
Law enforcement watchdogs allege that the group planned to construct four private mansions, each roughly 1,000 square metres in size, along with a shared wellness complex featuring a spa and swimming pool. The estimated cost of each residence is millions of dollars.
The investigation goes back to 2018 and is part of a broader probe into high-level graft first unveiled last November, when a former Zelenskyy’s business partner was accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme at the state atomic agency.
A former deputy prime minister and close associate of Zelenskyy’s were also charged as part of the investigation. The probe continues.
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