Zelensky's Ex-Aide Yermak Faces Kyiv Court in Money-Laundering Case

Andriy Yermak, former right-hand man to President Volodymyr Zelensky, appeared in a Kyiv court on Tuesday after Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies named him a suspect in a money-laundering scheme.

Yermak's lawyer had called allegations against the ex-head of the presidential office baseless. The claims center on a corruption scandal tied to a $10.5 million luxury construction project outside Kyiv.

Hours before the hearing, Yermak told reporters, "I do not have any house, I only have one flat and one car." He said he would comment later.

Yermak served as Zelensky's close friend and led Ukraine's talks with the United States for years. He resigned after an anti-corruption raid on his flat last November.

Ukraine's Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office asked the Kyiv court to place Yermak in preventive detention or require bail of about $4 million. The head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau stressed that Zelensky was not part of the pre-trial investigation.

Yermak acted as the president's closest adviser during Russia's full-scale invasion. He later became entangled in a broader inquiry by the prosecutor's office and the bureau into an alleged $100 million embezzlement scheme in Ukraine's nuclear energy sector.

He faced no charges or formal suspect status then. But the allegations have clouded Ukraine's push to join the European Union. Last year, Zelensky scrapped a law that weakened the independence of the two agencies amid protests and EU criticism.

The probe, Operation Midas, led to charges of abuse of office against ex-Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov. Businessman Timur Mindich, once in Zelensky's inner circle and co-owner of the president's former TV studio Kvartal 95, fled after being named a suspect. Sanctions later hit Mindich, who denies wrongdoing. Ex-Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko was detained trying to leave the country.

The newest claims involve the Dynasty elite housing project in a village outside Kyiv, where millions in construction funds were allegedly laundered. The anti-corruption bureau released part of a wiretapped conversation and identified six more suspects.

Yermak's lawyer, Ihor Fomin, told Ukraine's Suspilne public broadcaster Tuesday that the baseless accusations stemmed from unprecedented public pressure.

In separate news, more than 200 drones struck Ukraine overnight, killing at least one person, authorities said. Kyiv had seen relative calm for days.

Russia's Vladimir Putin said over the weekend that the war was coming to an end. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that much work remained and Putin was unlikely to meet Zelensky soon.