The corruption scandal is spreading in Ukraine and threatening Zelensky

BarcelonaThe corruption scandal in Ukraine is spreading like wildfire and threatens to directly implicate Volodymyr Zelensky. This Friday, the Ukrainian president announced that his chief of staff and closest confidant, Andriy Yermak, has resigned after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Prosecutor Anti-Corruption Office (SAP) raided his office. The agencies themselves announced the operation in a statement, though they provided no further details. According to the newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, The searches were carried out at Iermak's office and on the floor of the presidential headquarters where he has lived since the beginning of the war.

Although official details are not yet known, Ukrainian media are linking these searches to the case opened two weeks ago by the anti-corruption agency The investigation links several politicians and businesspeople to an alleged scheme involving kickbacks from the state-owned nuclear energy company. The investigation has already forced the resignation of two government ministers and has finally brought down the president's right-hand man. Eight people have been charged so far, but the head of the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau), Semen Kryvonos, said this week that the investigations into the scheme would continue and that the agency was preparing further indictments. According to the anti-corruption agency, a former business associate of Zelensky, Timur Mindich, allegedly orchestrated a scheme that diverted at least $100 million from the state-owned nuclear energy company through kickbacks paid to contractors. Those charged collected commissions of between 10% and 15% from contractors of Energoatom, one of the main state-owned enterprises, in exchange for keeping them as suppliers and not blocking their services or products.

Before resigning, Andri Iermak confirmed that anti-corruption authorities were searching his home and offered his "full cooperation" with the investigation. "There are no obstacles for the investigators. They have been given full access to the apartment," he said on his Telegram account, explaining that his lawyers were in contact with the officers conducting the searches.

This new investigation comes amid growing pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace plan negotiated between the United States and RussiaIt has also intensified criticism from Zelensky's political opponents, who are losing support both in Parliament and among the public. According to the newspaper The Kyiv IndependentIermak had received calls for his resignation, but Zelensky had refused to dismiss him and, moreover, had chosen him to lead the peace negotiations. Some reports have linked the head of the National Security Council, Rustem Umerov, who has led Ukraine's negotiating team in recent talks with Russia, to the corruption case. Umerov, who was defense minister during the period in which the alleged corruption scheme took place, was questioned on Wednesday by the NABU as a witness.

Who is Andriy Iermak?

That anti-corruption agents are investigating Iermak has not come as a surprise in Ukraine, as several media outlets had already suggested the Zelensky advisor's possible involvement in the fraudulent scheme. The newspaper Ukrainska Pravda It was reported this Monday, citing police sources, that Iermak is implicated in the corruption scandal and that investigators refer to him as "Ali Baba," the person who was supposed to block the investigations by anti-corruption agencies.

Furthermore, the Kyiv Independent It is alleged that one of the luxury homes near the capital financed through the Energoatom corruption scheme was intended for Iermak, a police source told the newspaper. "There really hasn't been much of a reaction [within the party]," a deputy from the president's party told the same publication after the searches were made public.

Zelensky's chief of staff has consolidated an exceptional level of power within the Ukrainian government, wielding influence over Parliament, the cabinet, and key state institutions. He is the president's most trusted advisor and participates in high-level diplomatic meetings.

"Andriy Iermak is so influential and so involved in so many matters within the country that it is impossible for a large-scale corruption scheme to operate without his deep knowledge and understanding," said Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center of Ukraine. Kyiv Independent before the raids this Friday.

Operation against anti-corruption agencies

The identification of Iermak as the "Ali Baba" who was supposed to rein in anti-corruption agents is linked to a move by Zelensky last summer. In July, security services raided the headquarters of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of "Russian interference." Following this, the president submitted a bill to Parliament that placed both agencies under the direct control of the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, appointed by the president. This meant that the Prosecutor General could decide which cases investigated by either agency would proceed, and that Kravchenko would have access to all information related to the investigations.

Zelensky He ended up withdrawing the law. This comes after the first demonstrations in the streets of Ukraine since the start of the war and amid criticism from the European Union, which considers anti-corruption agencies essential elements in Kyiv's reformist path.