Zelenskyy not implicated in a major graft probe, anti-corruption investigators say

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has nary transportation to a large corruption probe conducted by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), involving his erstwhile main of staff, Andriy Yermak.

On Tuesday, Oleksandr Klymenko, SAPO's caput stated that Zelenskyy "has not been and is not presently progressive successful the investigation," which concerns Yermak but besides Oleksiy Chernyshov, an ex-deputy premier curate and Timur Mindich, Zelenskyy’s erstwhile concern partner.

The suspects are accused of laundering astir €9 cardinal (460 cardinal hryvnias) betwixt 2021 and 2025 done a luxury spot improvement task adjacent Kyiv.

In addition, a sitting president is immune from prosecution nether Ukrainian law.

Anti-corruption prosecutors are present seeking Yermak's pre-trial detention. A tribunal proceeding successful his lawsuit began connected Tuesday afternoon, but information of the preventive measurement was postponed to let for reappraisal of the lawsuit materials.

“The prosecution volition inquire the tribunal to enforce a preventive measurement (for Yermak) successful the signifier of detention with the alternate of bail successful the magnitude of UAH 180 cardinal (around €3.5 million),” Klymenko said connected Tuesday.

Prosecutors besides requested that the introspection of grounds beryllium held down closed doors, contempt important nationalist involvement and unrecorded broadcast of the proceedings.

Dozens of journalists attended the courtroom proceedings. According to the defence, the lawsuit record comprises 16 volumes of astir 250 pages each, totalling astir 4,000 pages.

Why is Yermak nether investigation?

Yermak’s lawyer Ihor Fomin has called the lawsuit "unfounded" and denied that his lawsuit had immoderate engagement successful the allegations of money-laundering.

“As acold arsenic I'm concerned, this full concern has been provoked by nationalist pressure. In my full career, I person ne'er encountered specified pressure, including unit connected instrumentality enforcement agencies, to person Mr Yermak served with a announcement of suspicion.”

“In my presumption determination are simply nary grounds to bring immoderate transgression allegations against him, nor tin determination be,” Fomin said successful an interrogation with Ukraine’s nationalist broadcaster Suspline.

Yermak resigned from his station successful November aft NABU and SAPO searched the premises linked to him arsenic portion of different corruption probe involving the authorities atomic powerfulness company.

Back successful the autumn, Yermak was not charged, but helium resigned amid increasing unit connected the statesmanlike bureau implicit imaginable engagement successful the case.

“Dynasty” scheme

According to the investigation, astir €9 cardinal were laundered betwixt 2021 and 2025 done the operation of an elite residences successful the colony of Kozyn, a affluent suburb southbound of Kyiv.

Part of the financing is said to person travel from funds obtained done corruption schemes astir Ukraine’s authorities institution Enerhoatom.

The anti-corruption bureau reported backmost successful November 2025 that a radical of Ukrainian officials and the absorption of the strategical endeavor were collecting bribes from Enerhoatom contractors, amounting to 10-15% of each contract's value.

Around €85 cardinal successful funds were allegedly laundered, according to the NABU.

The allegation is that they received payments from contractors gathering fortifications against Russian attacks connected vigor infrastructure, portion millions of Ukrainians crossed the state were suffering from powerfulness outages and blackouts aft Moscow's relentless bombardments.

Mindich was named an alleged ringleader of the graft scheme.

Zelenskyy imposed sanctions connected Mindich, who fled Ukraine for Israel a time earlier the NABU raids past autumn.