Zelensky's ex-chief of staff charged in money laundering scheme
by Danielle Haynes · UPIMay 12 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's former chief of staff faces charges of money laundering to the tune of $8.9 million, prosecutors announced.
Andriy Yermak is accused of being involved in a corruption scheme in which Ukraine's anti-graft agencies said multiple government officials embezzled about $100 million from the country's state-owned nuclear power monopoly Energoatom. The scandal broke in November, prompting Yermak to resign his post as the most powerful political figure in Ukraine after Zelensky.
Though the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine didn't name the government official facing new charges Monday, an unnamed law enforcement official confirmed Yermak's identity to The Kyiv Independent. Pravda and The New York Times also reported his identity.
Sources said Yermak was served a notice of suspicion, the Ukrainian equivalent of an indictment in the United States. He's accused of laundering the funds in a scheme involving the construction of luxury residential buildings outside Kyiv over several years through shell companies, cash transactions and fake financial documents.
The Kyiv Independent reported that other suspects involved in the Energoatom case allegedly gave money to former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov to construct the luxury homes, which included four private mansions and a shared wellness and spa complex. One of the residences was allegedly meant to house Yermak.