Ukrainian anti-corruption agents search home of Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak

Update: Andriy Yermak has resigned from his post as the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.

Officers from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) searched the home of Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office and the country’s chief negotiator in the peace process, on Friday morning. A Ukrainska Pravda correspondent was the first to report the search. According to the outlet, about 10 NABU and SAP officers entered the government quarter.

NABU and Yermak both confirmed the search soon afterward. The bureau said the operation was “authorized and being conducted as part of an investigation,” without specifying which case was involved. Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel that NABU and SAP were “carrying out procedural actions” at his home. “Investigators are facing no obstacles. They were given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are on site working with law enforcement. I am fully cooperating,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet commented on the search. Investigators have not yet officially declared Yermak a suspect, according to sources cited by Interfax Ukraine, RBC Ukraine, and Ukrainska Pravda.

Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller, citing sources, reported that the search was linked to a corruption investigation in Ukraine’s energy sector. RBC Ukraine also reported a connection to that case.

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Early this November, NABU announced it had uncovered large-scale embezzlement at Energoatom, the state-owned operator of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. The scheme allegedly involved kickbacks on company procurements worth hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the anti-corruption agencies, the scheme was created and partly controlled by Timur Mindich — a co-founder of the Kvartal 95 entertainment production company and an associate of Zelensky — and involved several senior officials as possible beneficiaries. Investigators searched Mindich’s home on November 10. Ukrainska Pravda reported that he had left for Israel, of which he is a citizen, just hours before the search.

The corruption scandal triggered speculation about Yermak’s possible resignation. According to Ukrainska Pravda, people in Zelensky’s inner circle urged him to dismiss his chief of staff. On November 20, Zelensky met with members of the ruling Servant of the People party and signaled that he had no intention of firing Yermak.

The scandal has already led to personnel changes. Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko — who served as energy minister until 2025 — and Ukraine’s current energy minister, Svitlana Hrynchuk, were both dismissed. Zelensky also imposed sanctions on Mindich and another suspect in the case, businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman, who has also left Ukraine. Both Mindich and Tsukerman have been declared wanted. Former deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, a close associate of Zelensky, has also been arrested in connection with the case.

National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov has given testimony in the Mindich case. The National Security and Defense Council said he “was summoned to NABU as a witness to provide testimony in a criminal proceeding opened over interference in the work of a public official.” Earlier reporting indicated that Mindich had “organized influence” over Umerov when he was serving as defense minister — a claim Umerov has denied.