On Monday night, May 11, the former head of Ukraine’s Office of the President Andriy Yermak, the powerful right-hand man of Ukraine’s acting president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was finally officially charged with money-laundering by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), and investigators from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) searched his home. Yermak was forced out of office last November after secret recordings of Zelenskyy’s close associate Timur Mindich and the then-Defense Secretary Rustem Umerov—basically implicating Yermak and Zelenskyy in profiteering from energy and defense contracts—were made public. However, he apparently has remained in play, on a daily basis, at the top levels of Kiev’s government.
SAPO’s immediate indictment involved the washing of dirty money from large-scale corruption into the construction of four luxury homes for Mindich, Yermak, and two others—apparently including Zelenskyy. Yermak is facing 8-15 years in prison, plus the confiscation of the property. However, the scale of illegal profiteering on energy and defense contracts dwarfs the amount that might have been laundered through the construction company.
On the “wiretapped” recordings from NABU and SAPO’s “Operation Midas” investigation, Zelenskyy is referred to by Mindich and Umerov as “Vova,” his nickname. More fragments of the recordings have been “surfaced” over the last three weeks. Strana’s analysts have identified the “P1” pseudonym in the documents as Zelenskyy and have added that he is currently immune from criminal prosecution, as long as he keeps his position.
NABU chief Semyon Krivonos said, after Yermak’s indictment, that Zelenskyy “has not been and is not currently a target of the pre-trial investigation. I cannot name any companies, so as not to violate the presumption of innocence. We spoke about the defense sector, which is being investigated by NABU. The investigation is focusing on manufacturers and specific drone manufacturers.” At court today, no pre-trial restriction was imposed on Yermak, but proceedings continue tomorrow, where such restrictions may yet be imposed. The prosecution is asking for detention of Yermak, with bail of around $4 million. Yermak, who had been ridiculed for his claim last November that he was going to deploy to the frontlines, made a more modest claim today: “I plan to visit soldiers on the front line, deal with their queries, and support our defenders and former prisoners of war and their families.”
Corruption in Ukraine is prosecuted selectively. Both NABU and SAPO had been largely associated with the EU leadership in Brussels, but Washington has also had a hand in some of their operations. So, while the actions of the last 24 hours could indicate policy decisions in the West about Zelenskyy’s future, the conclusions of various analysts can only be taken with a grain of salt.
