Ukrainian authorities on Monday named President Volodymyr Zelensky's powerful former chief of staff as a suspect in a major corruption investigation, likely to pile pressure on the president's office at a sensitive moment in the war with Russia.
The political class in Kyiv was rocked last year by a wide-ranging investigation that sparked public outrage and led Zelensky's former closest adviser and right-hand man, Andriy Yermak, to resign.
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies said in a statement that Yermak was suspected of participating in a criminal group that laundered about $10,5 million through an elite residential complex outside the capital, Kiev.
The agencies did not name Yermak, in accordance with Ukrainian law, but he was widely identified by local media. In a statement to Ukraine's Radio Free Europe, he denied owning any property in the complex, but did not comment further.
The case is part of a broader investigation into high-level corruption, which first came to light last November, when a former business partner of Zelensky was accused of running a $100 million bribery scheme at the state atomic energy agency.
A former deputy prime minister and close aide to Zelensky has also been charged in the investigation.
Zelensky's communications adviser, Dmytro Litvin, told reporters that it was too early to comment on the suspicions against Yermak because the procedural actions were still ongoing.
Yermak was considered the second most powerful person in Ukraine after Zelensky, with a disproportionate influence over much of Ukrainian politics, even though he was not an elected official.
The former film producer and entertainment industry lawyer often appeared alongside the president at public events and was Kiev's chief negotiator in the US-backed peace talks with Russia.
His resignation last year came as part of a broader government reshuffle aimed at restoring confidence in the presidential cabinet, which had faced accusations of centralizing power.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
