Ukraine officials name Zelenskyy's ex-chief of staff as a suspect in money-laundering probe

Ukraine's Head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak speaks at a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

KYIV, Ukraine — Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine have named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff as an official suspect in a major graft investigation.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced late Monday that Andriy Yermak is suspected in an alleged 460-million-hryvnia (US$10.5 million) money-laundering scheme.

The announcement coincided with, but was not connected to, the end of a three-day U.S-brokered ceasefire that decreased the fighting but failed to stop it altogether as Russia’s invasion of its neighbour stretches into its fifth year with no sign of a peace settlement within reach.

Ukraine offered to extend the pause in hostilities, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. But he reported Tuesday that Russia launched over 200 drones against Ukraine overnight, striking civilian infrastructure and killing at least one person and wounding another six.

“It is time to strengthen our positions and force Moscow to end the war,” Sybiha said on X. Russian President Vladimir Putin “must realize that it will only get worse for him.”

Western analysts say Ukraine’s battlefield position has recently improved as it deploys cutting-edge drone technology to hold Russia’s bigger army at bay.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air defences intercepted 30 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine.

Zelenskyy holds talks with CEO of U.S. firm Palantir

Zelenskyy said Tuesday he met in Kyiv with the CEO of Palantir Technologies, Alex Karp, as part of Ukraine’s growing cooperation with the U.S. defence sector.

The Ukrainian leader said in a social media post that Ukraine and Palantir “can be useful to each other.”

“We discussed directions of technological development both in the context of combat operations and civilian needs,” Zelenskyy said.

Palantir Technologies is an artificial intelligence software company that helps global defence agencies. It specializes in software platforms that pull together and analyze large amounts of data and has been partnering with Ukraine for several years.

AI can help combatants quickly sift and decipher a huge volume of battlefield information, enabling more accurate attacks, among other things.

Graft investigation embarrasses Zelenskyy

Corruption investigators said in an announcement on the Telegram messaging app that the investigation into Yermak is ongoing.

The move is a step short of formally charging Yermak, who resigned in November. He was the country’s lead negotiator in talks with the U.S and left during the scandal that brought the biggest threat to Zelenskyy’s government since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The investigation is deeply embarrassing for the Ukrainian leader as he pushes for his country to be admitted as a member of the European Union, a process which likely will take years. Endemic corruption is one of the obstacles slowing Ukraine’s admission.

Yermak was a trusted confidant of Zelenskyy, who resisted persistent pressure to replace him, and a powerful figure in the government.

Zelenskyy made no public comment on the anti-graft agencies’ announcement, but his press officer Dmytro Lytvyn said “the investigation is ongoing, it’s early to draw conclusions.”

Any charges against Yermak may take months

Investigators said Yermak is suspected of being involved in laundering money through construction projects near Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. They searched his home in November. No other suspects have been named.

Yermak’s attorney, Ihor Fomin, called the suspicion notice groundless and denied his client’s involvement in the alleged laundering of 460 million hryvnias through an elite construction project outside Kyiv.

“In my view, this entire situation has been provoked by public pressure,” Fomin said in an interview with Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

A decision on whether to bring formal charges against Yermak could still take months.

At the time of Yermak’s resignation, Zelenskyy said he was rebooting the presidential office and thanked Yermak for his work on peace negotiations.

Hanna Arhirova, The Associated Press