Ukraine Court Orders Andriy Yermak Arrest Over $10.5 Million Laundering Scheme

8 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 14

140 million hryvnias ($3.19 million) in bail was set after Ukraine's anti-corruption court ordered former presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak arrested on money-laundering charges.
Anti-graft agencies say Yermak took part in a criminal group that laundered about $10.5 million through an elite housing development outside Kyiv; he denies the allegations and plans to appeal.
Monday's designation of Yermak as a suspect brought investigators closest yet to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's inner circle, where Yermak had been seen as the second most powerful figure in Ukrainian politics.
Yermak resigned last year in a government shake-up meant to restore trust in Zelenskiy's office, and analysts say the case is unlikely to threaten the president immediately but could deepen longer-term reputational damage.

How long can President Zelenskiy remain untouched by the corruption scandal now engulfing his closest ally?

Is the arrest of a top official a genuine cleanup or a power struggle for Ukraine's vital wartime assets?

With his inner circle implicated, is Ukraine's government losing the trust required to join the European Union?