Zelensky's former chief of staff, officially indicted in the biggest corruption scandal of the Ukrainian president's term
Andrii Iermak, a former chief of staff to Ukraine's president, has been indicted on money laundering charges in the investigation into the $100 million Energoatom corruption scheme, a source familiar with the case told the Kyiv Independent, after prosecutors made the announcement without naming the official. The information was also reported by other publications, including Ukrainska Pravda and RBC-Ukraine.
The investigation into Ukraine's state-owned nuclear power company Energoatom was launched last year and is described by the Kyiv Independent as the biggest corruption investigation under President Zelenskiy.
Andrii Iermak resigned in November from the position of chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, after being targeted by searches in the file.
“I will comment after the investigation is over,” Iermak told reporters after being indicted.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has yet to publicly comment on Andriy Iermak's indictment, but Dmitro Litvin, one of the president's advisers, told reporters that “it is too early to assess the ongoing procedural actions.”
A $100 million corruption scheme
In November, Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO, unveiled a wide-ranging investigation into an alleged $100 million bribery scheme at the state atomic energy company that involved former senior officials and a former business partner of Zelenskiy.
Nine other suspects in the case had already been indicted, including Timur Mindici, the president's former business partner, as well as former deputy prime minister Oleksii Chernișov, as well as former energy and justice minister Gherman Galushchenko.
People in the file are suspected of giving Chernyshov money to build luxury homes near Kyiv, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent. One of the properties financed by the Energoatom corruption scheme was intended for Iermak, according to the source.
According to NABU, a company founded by Cernîșov, Bloom Development LLC, had bought four hectares of land from the local authorities in the village of Kozîn in the summer of 2019, which became the basis of the future development project.
