Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency (NABU) conducted a series of raids on Friday at the office of Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man and head of the presidential office.
NABU stated in a press release that, together with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), it carried out a series of operations as part of an investigation, though it did not provide further details.
Several members of parliament have previously warned of possible corruption within the government and have called on Zelensky to dismiss Yermak as the investigation into an alleged network surrounding the Ukrainian energy sector progresses.
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced on November 10 a series of large-scale measures to investigate the corruption scandal, which have so far included raids on the headquarters of the state-owned atomic energy company, Energoatom.
They have indicated that a “criminal organization” was laundering money from an office in the capital, Kyiv, a property belonging to former Ukrainian parliamentarian and businessman Andriy Derkach, who is currently a Russian senator.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Unit (NABU), this office received payments in the form of percentages for providing services to individuals outside the organization. “In total, approximately $100 million (€87 million) passed through this money laundering scheme,” they stated via their Telegram channel.
Yermak is one of the most important figures in the country and has become Zelensky’s right-hand man since he came into office in 2019, a role that has become more relevant in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
