New Delhi: Andriy Yermak, the former right hand of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and considered his potential successor, was charged with corruption and money laundering late Monday evening.
Yermak, the former chief of staff for Zelenskyy, has been charged by National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s office (SAPO) for laundering UAH 460 million, or roughly EUR 8.9 million, on “elite construction” projects near Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
While Yermak was not directly named, NABU and SAPO referred to the former “head of the President’s office” in their statement released late Monday evening. It has been alleged that over many years, EUR 8.9 million was funnelled to the construction of luxury mansions outside of Kyiv through a number of shell companies and fictitious financial documents, including cash payments, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Yermak has made no comment yet on the charges, which emanate from investigations into the EUR 85 million corruption scandal at the state-owned Energoatom energy company.
The probe began last year and has brought a number of Zelenskyy’s allies under the scanner, including entrepreneur Timur Mindich and former deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov. Both were charged with corruption last year, but denied the allegations. Mindich was a co-founder of Kvartal-95, a production company founded by Zelenskyy, before the latter ran for office.
Yermak was Zelenskyy’s chief of staff from 2020 till his resignation on 28 November, 2025. Once considered the most powerful individual in the Ukrainian government, Yermak’s fall from grace has been steep.
Zelenskyy has remained mum on the charges. Last year, on the eve of NABU and SAPO filing charges, the Ukrainian Parliament had moved to strip the two agencies of their independent powers. The passed bill was signed into law quickly by Zelenskyy, which had led to massive protests across the country. Zelenskyy had then withdrawn the law, following public anger.
The probe into Energoatom is the biggest in Zelenskyy’s tenure, which has been overshadowed by the war with Russia. At least nine suspects have been charged so far, including Mindich, Chernyshov and former justice minister Herman Halushchenko. Halushchenko was also the Energy Minister of Ukraine between 2021 and 2025.
The allegations and investigation have hurt public perception surrounding the Ukrainian President. Mindich fled Ukraine—reportedly on a tip-off—before he could be detained by authorities.
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Once the most powerful individual in Ukraine
As Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Yermak centralised power within the President’s office. A former film producer, and famously loyal to Zelenskyy, Yermak capitalised on the friendship to lead a number of sensitive deliberations across the government.
He was the main liaison between Kyiv and Washington. The US during President Joe Biden’s term was Ukraine’s major military partner. Yermak handled all discussions with Washington over the negotiations to end the war with Russia. The four-year long war continues into its fifth summer as Moscow gears up for another push to capture large swathes of Eastern Ukraine.
The former chief of staff’s exit last year came as Zelenskyy moved to restore trust in his office, following the summer protests against the law stripping NABU and SAPO of its powers. According to The Economist, Yermak has famously been accused of being behind the attempt to change a number of Ukrainian government positions last year, including then prime minister Denys Shmyhal and Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR).
Shmyhal was eventually replaced by Yulia Svyrydenko in July 2025, who is considered to be close to Yermak, according to the British current affairs magazine. The investigations into Chernyshov were reportedly greenlit by Yermak, after the former deputy PM had offered himself as an alternative liaison for Washington.
Chernyshov eventually resigned from office in July 2025. The corruption case surrounding Energoatom revolved around suspects in the case allegedly giving money to him for the construction of mansions outside of Kyiv. One of the mansions was meant for Yermak, according to The Kyiv Independent.
The larger scheme within Energoatom, which led to Chernyshov’s downfall revolves around the allegations of kick-backs earned by a group of top officials led by Mindich through contract work undertaken for the state energy company.
Yermak was also a key player in Ukraine’s outreach with India. He has held multiple conversations with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval over the years.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)