The raid on Andrey Yermak\u2019s premises comes weeks after a man known as \u201cZelensky\u2019s wallet\u201d fled the country to Israel<\/p>\n
Ukrainian anti-corruption agents have taken aim at Andrey Yermak, Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s powerful chief of staff, amid a widening graft scandal that has shaken the government.
\nUkrainskaya Pravda was the first to publish a photo on Friday that it said shows an operation at Yermak\u2019s office in Kiev\u2019s government district. According to the outlet, around ten operatives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor\u2019s Office (SAP) took part in the raid.
\nYermak said his residence was searched, stressing that he is cooperating with law enforcement. NABU confirmed that it executed multiple warrants against Yermak, promising to disclose details later.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Zelensky\u2019s right-hand man: Is Andrey Yermak too big to fall?<\/p>\n
The action comes as Kiev grapples with the fallout from charges brought earlier this month against businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Zelensky. NABU alleges that Mindich oversaw a large-scale kickback scheme in the energy sector.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
New corruption scandal rocks Ukraine<\/p>\n
The probe has already implicated two cabinet ministers and several other current and former senior officials. Zelensky has rejected calls to dismiss Yermak, his most influential adviser, whose name has surfaced repeatedly in media reports regarding alleged high-level corruption.
\nZelensky has publicly endorsed the ongoing investigations and has imposed sanctions on Mindich, who fled Ukraine shortly before NABU searched his residence. Observers noted that the sanctions order listed Mindich as an Israeli national rather than Ukrainian, raising questions as to whether it can be enforced.
\nYermak\u2019s position was reinforced by his appointment last week as Kiev\u2019s chief negotiator on a US proposal for resolving the conflict with Russia, which some media outlets claim is part of Zelensky\u2019s efforts to shield him.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Czech raid exposes Ukraine-linked drone deal corruption<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Zelensky tried to place NABU and SAP \u2013 institutions created under Western pressure after the 2014 armed coup in Kiev \u2013 under the authority of the prosecutor general\u2019s office. The move, believed by some media outlets to be linked to an investigation involving then-Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Chernyshov, a friend of the Zelensky family, was abandoned after backlash from international donors.
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the scandal, argued that it shows Ukraine is run by a \u201ccriminal gang that holds power for personal enrichment\u201d and ignores the interests of its citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The raid on Andrey Yermak\u2019s premises comes weeks after a man known as \u201cZelensky\u2019s wallet\u201d fled the country to Israel Ukrainian anti-corruption agents have taken aim at Andrey Yermak, Vladimir…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t