KYIV — Ukrainian anti-corruption watchdogs on Friday raided the premises of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top adviser Andriy Yermak in a bombshell development to a snowballing graft probe.
“National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Special Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s office (SAP) are conducting investigative searches at premises of the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine,” NABU said in a Facebook post.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian MPs and watchdogs demanded that Zelenskyy fire Yermak amid a $100 million energy corruption scandal being investigated by NABU, in which one of the president’s business associates — who fled the country — was heavily implicated as the ringleader.
“Investigative actions are authorized and are carried out within the framework of the ongoing investigation,” the bureau added regarding the Yermak raid, promising more details soon.
Yermak has been by the president’s side as the second-most powerful man in Kyiv since Zelenskyy’s 2019 election win. He is a key interlocutor with Ukraine’s Western allies as it resists Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Two weeks ago, anti-corruption watchdogs dismantled the alleged criminal organization that consisted of current and former energy officials, a noted businessman, government ministers and a former deputy prime minister.
It is the most damaging domestic scandal of Zelenskyy’s time in charge, and comes amid relentless Russian bombing and pressure from the U.S. on Kyiv to agree to a potentially unfavorable peace deal with the Kremlin.
This story is being updated.
