KYIV (Reuters) -Anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine said they conducted searches linked to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff and top peace negotiator Andriy Yermak on Friday.
Yermak said on Telegram searches were taking place in his home and he was cooperating fully.
In a joint statement, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said the searches were “authorised” and linked to an unspecified investigation.
“NABU and SAPO are conducting investigative actions (searches) at the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine,” they said. “Investigative actions are authorized and are being carried out within the framework of an investigation.”
Earlier this month, the two agencies unveiled a sweeping investigation into an alleged $100 million kickback scheme at the state atomic energy company that has ensnared former senior officials and Zelenskiy’s ex-business partner.
Yermak has not been named a suspect in the investigation, but opposition lawmakers and some members of Zelenskiy’s own party had called for his dismissal as part of Ukraine’s worst wartime political crisis.
The searches, which are likely to inflame tensions between Zelenskiy and his political opponents, come as Kyiv faces pressure to accept a U.S.-backed peace deal in its war with Russia.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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