KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office have named Andrii Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff, as a suspect in a major graft investigation, bringing the man who once wielded enormous influence in the country’s wartime government under direct legal scrutiny.
Yermak is officially suspected of participating in an alleged 460-million hryvnia ($10.5 million) money-laundering scheme tied to a luxury construction project outside Kyiv, the anti-corruption agencies said. The naming of a suspect is a step short of formally charging Yermak, who resigned in November as the scandal brought the most significant threat to Zelenskyy’s government since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
A Ukrainian court held the first hearing in the case this week. On Thursday, the court ordered that Yermak be held in pretrial detention, with bail set at 140 million hryvnias ($3.2 million). Yermak said during Tuesday’s hearing that he is innocent and that he owns “only one apartment and one car.” His attorney called the notice of suspicion groundless and denied Yermak’s involvement in the scheme.
Anti-corruption watchdogs allege that the construction project was used to launder money through a network of shell companies. They claim Yermak and a group of associates planned to construct four private mansions and other luxury facilities.
The case is part of a broader $100 million kickback probe revealed by the anti-corruption agencies in November 2025. That investigation implicated high-ranking officials in pressuring contractors to pay kickbacks of up to 15 percent in exchange for construction business with Energoatom, the state-owned nuclear energy company. It involved more than 1,000 hours of wiretaps in which individuals used code names.
After the scheme became public, Ukraine’s parliament approved Zelenskyy’s dismissal of the energy and justice ministers. The president’s office imposed sanctions on close associates said to be involved, including Tymur Mindich, a partner in a media production company that Zelenskyy co-owned before becoming president. Mindich has reportedly fled the country. It remains to be established by prosecutors whether some of the funds Yermak is accused of laundering originated from the Energoatom scheme.
Yermak met Zelenskyy more than 15 years ago when Yermak was a lawyer venturing into television production and Zelenskyy was a famous comedian and actor. He oversaw foreign affairs in Zelenskyy’s first presidential team and was promoted to chief of staff in February 2020. In that role Yermak occupied what is widely regarded as Ukraine’s second most consequential public post, frequently acting as the president’s gatekeeper and believed by many to have chosen all top government appointees, including prime ministers and ministers.
Zelenskyy deeply trusted Yermak, taking him on every trip abroad since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. When the corruption scandal broke, Zelenskyy initially resisted intense public pressure to replace him.
The anti-corruption agencies explicitly stated that Zelenskyy is not under suspicion in the case. But the formal implication of his former chief of staff intensifies scrutiny over the president’s awareness and brings the probe closer to Zelenskyy himself — a threat to his credibility at a moment when Ukraine is actively seeking admission to the European Union and continued Western support against Russia’s invasion. Endemic corruption is one of the obstacles slowing Ukraine’s EU bid.
The investigation has also drawn in current officials involved in peace negotiations with the United States. Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and a key figure in U.S.-led diplomatic efforts, has been questioned as part of the investigation.
Zelenskyy’s presidential term officially ended in May 2024, but he has continued to govern without elections, saying they cannot be held while Russia occupies roughly one-fifth of the country. His critics say bolstering credibility with Western allies is essential to the war effort and to eventually negotiating an end to the conflict.