Zelenskyy's Former Chief of Staff Targeted in Major Ukraine Corruption Probe

On the morning of November 28, 2025, anti-corruption detectives burst into an apartment in central Kyiv with a search warrant [1]. Their target: Andriy Yermak, the head of the Presidential Office and the man widely described as Ukraine's shadow co-president. Six months later, on May 11, 2026, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) formally served Yermak with a notice of suspicion for money laundering — the most significant charge against a senior Zelenskyy-era official to date [2][3].

The suspicion centers on the alleged laundering of 460 million hryvnias (approximately $8.9 million) through an elite housing development outside Kyiv, using shell companies, cash transactions, and fictitious financial documents [4]. But this charge is only one thread in a far larger investigation: Operation Midas, a probe into an estimated $100 million corruption network rooted in Ukraine's state nuclear energy monopoly, Energoatom [5].

Who Is Andriy Yermak?

Yermak, 53, a former entertainment lawyer and film producer, became head of the Presidential Office in February 2020 [6]. Despite holding an unelected position with relatively modest formal authority, he transformed the office into what analysts at the International Centre for Defence and Security called "the single most powerful body of the Ukrainian government" [7].

During his tenure from 2020 to November 2025, Yermak consolidated control over domestic and foreign policy, personnel appointments, law enforcement coordination, and — critically — Ukraine's negotiating position with Russia during the full-scale war [8]. He served as Kyiv's lead negotiator in U.S.-backed peace talks, making him a frequent interlocutor with senior Trump administration officials [9]. A Lawfare analysis described his departure as "a political earthquake" occurring in the middle of "frantic diplomatic efforts" [10].

Ukrainian civil society groups viewed Yermak less favorably. Chatham House noted he was "seen by many as a mastermind behind the centralisation of power" and as a gatekeeper who controlled access to Zelenskyy [11]. Transparency advocates accused him of overseeing efforts to curtail the independence of NABU and SAPO — the very agencies now pursuing his prosecution [11].

The Anatomy of Operation Midas

The investigation, launched in November 2025 after a 15-month wiretap operation, exposed what prosecutors allege was a systematic kickback scheme at Energoatom [5]. The alleged mechanism worked as follows: two individuals installed at the state nuclear company — identified in court documents as Ihor Myroniuk and Dmytro Basov — allegedly controlled all procurement contracts and demanded kickbacks of 10–15% of each contract's value [12].

The proceeds were allegedly funneled through a "laundromat" operated by a criminal organization whose leader is referred to in case documents by the codename "Karlsson" [3]. Investigators allege the funds were then used to finance luxury construction projects near Kyiv, with at least one property intended for Yermak [5].

Yermak himself appears in intercepted recordings — the so-called "Mindich tapes" — under the alias "Surgeon" (or "Khirurg" in Ukrainian) [12]. The recordings allegedly capture conversations suggesting Yermak gave instructions to law enforcement agencies, including efforts to target NABU and SAPO personnel [13].

The charge filed against Yermak falls under Part 3 of Article 209 of Ukraine's Criminal Code — laundering property obtained through criminal activity — which carries a sentence of 8 to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property [3].

The Wider Circle of Implicated Officials

Yermak is far from the only senior figure caught in Operation Midas. The investigation has touched an expanding ring of current and former officials:

• Oleksiy Chernyshov, former Deputy Prime Minister, was formally implicated — the first time in NABU/SAPO history that an acting Deputy PM faced corruption charges [14].
• Herman Halushchenko, former Energy and Justice Minister, was dismissed by parliament on November 19, 2025, alongside Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk [15].
• Rustem Umerov, former Defense Minister (moved to the National Security and Defense Council in July 2025), is under investigation in connection with the Mindich network and was summoned to testify before a parliamentary inquiry commission on May 13, 2026 [16][17].
• Tymur Mindich, the businessman at the center of the alleged scheme, is suspected of orchestrating the entire corruption network through connections in the Ministry of Energy [12].

This is not the first wave of wartime corruption dismissals. In January 2023, Zelenskyy announced a separate round of "personnel decisions" after scandals involving embezzlement of military procurement funds, firing a deputy infrastructure minister arrested for bribery and dismissing six deputy ministers and five regional administrators [18].

NABU and SAPO: Institutional Track Record

Ukraine's anti-corruption architecture — NABU (the investigative body, established in 2015), SAPO (the specialized prosecution office), and HACC (the High Anti-Corruption Court, established in 2019) — was built largely under pressure from international partners as a condition for aid.

The institutions have gained credibility over time. In 2023, NABU and SAPO had their most productive year since creation, uncovering misconduct involving 21 senior government officials, 39 heads of state-owned enterprises, 16 judges, and 11 members of parliament [14]. By the end of 2025, a total of 11.4 billion hryvnias had been recovered for the state [14]. The first half of 2025 alone saw 370 new investigations, 115 suspects, and 62 convictions [19].

Source: National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine

Data as of Dec 31, 2025CSV

A landmark case came in May 2023, when the head of the Supreme Court was caught accepting a $2.7 million bribe [14]. That case demonstrated the agencies' willingness to pursue the highest levels of the judiciary.

Yet the track record is mixed. High-profile suspects have sometimes avoided conviction through procedural delays, jurisdictional disputes, or political interference. The Yermak case will test whether these institutions can secure a conviction against someone who, until recently, sat at the apex of Ukrainian state power.

The Political Motivation Question

Any prosecution of a figure this close to the president invites scrutiny over motive and timing. The steelman case for political motivation rests on several observations.

First, a July 2025 law stripped NABU and SAPO of significant independence — a move critics said was driven by the fact that NABU was "closing in on people close to the president" [13]. The timing of this legislative change, followed months later by Yermak's own exposure, raises questions about whether the investigation proceeded only after internal power dynamics shifted.

Second, in July 2025, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) arrested a NABU detective who had been investigating corruption at Energoatom, charging him with collaborating with Russia and overseeing drug trafficking [13]. This detective was released after Yermak's resignation, though the case remains active. The sequence suggests possible efforts to obstruct the investigation while Yermak was still in power.

Third, Yermak's departure cleared the way for significant political realignment. On January 2, 2026, Zelenskyy appointed General Kyrylo Budanov, head of military intelligence, as the new chief of staff [11]. Carnegie Endowment analysts noted the resignation "changed the landscape of Ukrainian politics," potentially allowing Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Servant of the People faction leader David Arakhamia to "restore the authority of the cabinet and parliament" [20].

However, those who view the prosecution as legitimate counter that the evidence — 15 months of wiretaps, over 70 searches, intercepted recordings — predates any political realignment [5]. The German Marshall Fund argued in a pre-resignation analysis that "Yermak must go" and framed the investigation as an essential anti-corruption test for Zelenskyy's credibility [21]. The European Policy Centre similarly suggested Yermak's exit could represent "the rise of institutional accountability in Ukraine" [22].

Ukraine's Corruption Ranking Among Aid Recipients

Ukraine scored 36 out of 100 on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), ranking 104th globally [23]. This places it in the middle tier among major Western aid recipients — above Pakistan (27) and Afghanistan (24), roughly comparable to Egypt (35), but well below Poland (54) and Israel (62) [23].

Source: Transparency International

Data as of Jan 25, 2026CSV

The score represents a modest improvement from 26 in 2014, when Ukraine's post-Maidan reforms began, though progress has stalled in recent years [23].

Source: Transparency International

Data as of Jan 25, 2026CSV

Academics studying EU enlargement note that Ukraine's corruption levels "resemble those of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia at the start of negotiations" and are "average among current candidates" [24]. The key distinction is that Ukraine already possesses anti-corruption institutions, shifting the EU's conditionality focus from institutional creation to performance improvement [24].

Western Aid at Stake

The financial stakes surrounding this prosecution are substantial. The EU has pledged €50 billion under its Ukraine Facility for 2024–2027, with disbursements contingent on reform benchmarks including anti-corruption performance [24]. In February 2026, the IMF Executive Board approved an $8.1 billion extended arrangement, with an initial $1.5 billion disbursement, as part of a $136.5 billion total international support package [25].

But these flows are fragile. As of early 2026, Ukraine had enough money for defense only through June 2026, with U.S. aid stalling and EU funding periodically blocked by Hungary [26]. Up to €3.9 billion ($4.5 billion) in EU funds could be permanently lost in 2026 if reform conditions are not met [27]. The IMF's June review, which determines the next tranche, depends on passage of required legislation [27].

Source: World Bank Open Data

Data as of Dec 31, 2024CSV

The Yermak prosecution cuts both ways for these aid flows. A successful prosecution demonstrates institutional independence and could satisfy donor conditionality requirements. A collapse of charges — or evidence that the case was politically manufactured — would validate skeptics who argue Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure is performative. Either outcome will likely be cited in the EU's next accession progress report and in the IMF's structural benchmark assessments.

No major donor government has publicly cited the Yermak case specifically in formal internal reviews as of May 2026, though the broader Energoatom scandal has featured prominently in EU conditionality discussions [24].

The Shadow System

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime published an analysis urging Ukraine to "seize this moment to free itself of the shadow system" that characterized the Yermak era [28]. The International Centre for Defence and Security framed the question as whether Ukraine was witnessing "the end of the power vertical built by Zelensky's shadow man" [7].

That power vertical — in which an unelected chief of staff wielded more influence than the prime minister or parliament — created conditions where procurement decisions at state enterprises like Energoatom could allegedly be captured by networks with political connections. Investigators allege the Mindich network exploited personal relationships with the Ministry of Energy and the Presidential Office to control personnel decisions, procurement processes, and financial flows at Energoatom [12].

Whether Yermak's removal alone is sufficient to dismantle this system remains an open question. As Chatham House analysts warned, "Yermak's firing alone likely won't be enough to cleanse the government of the former chief of staff's countless associates, nor will it singlehandedly overhaul the highly centralized system of government he built over the years" [11].

What Comes Next

Yermak's case now moves through Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court. He has not publicly commented on the charges as of May 12, 2026. A parliamentary Temporary Inquiry Commission on economic security has summoned additional officials — including former presidential first aide Serhiy Shefir and Umerov — to testify on May 13 [17].

The case arrives at a precarious moment. Ukraine is fighting a war, negotiating a potential peace framework, pursuing EU membership, and depending on tens of billions in Western financial support — all simultaneously. The Brookings Institution described the situation as one in which "corruption scandals undermine Ukraine more than Russian attacks" in terms of eroding the international coalition supporting Kyiv [29].

For Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions, this is the highest-profile test they have faced. For Zelenskyy, it is a test of whether he can credibly distance himself from the system his closest ally built. For Western donors, it is a test of whether conditionality mechanisms actually work — or whether the billions continue to flow regardless of outcome.