Zelenskyy's Top Aide Resigns After Raids Linked With $100 Million Anti-Corruption Probe

Last Updated:November 28, 2025, 21:55 IST

Yermak had been a powerful figure in Kyiv and Ukraine’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Russia and the United States. He has long been a close aide for Zelenskyy.

A file photo of Zelenskyy (AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said his top aide, Andriy Yermak, had resigned as Chief of Staff after investigators raided his house as part of a sweeping corruption probe.

“The Office of the President of Ukraine will be reorganised. The head of the office, Andriy Yermak, has submitted his resignation," Zelensky said in a video address, adding that he would hold consultations with a possible replacement on Saturday.

Yermak has been Ukraine’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Russia and the United States. He has also been a trusted confidante of Zelenskyy for years. In recent times, Yermak had been the target of anti-corruption authorities after allegations that close associates of Zelenskyy, including his business partner Tymur Mindich and two government ministers, embezzled $100 million from Ukraine’s energy sector.

Two national agencies fighting entrenched corruption in Ukraine said their searches targeted Yermak. Oleksii Tkachuk, a spokesperson for Yermak, said the anti-graft agencies had not served Yermak a notice of suspicion, meaning he was not a suspect in an investigation.

Corruption Scandal Rocks Ukraine

Yermak confirmed that agencies searched his apartment inside the presidential compound in downtown Kyiv, where checkpoints limit public access. It was not clear where Zelenskyy or Yermak were at the time of the morning raid. “The investigators are facing no obstacles," Yermak wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office are leading a major investigation into the $100 million energy sector corruption scandal involving top Ukrainian officials which has dominated domestic headlines in recent weeks.

Investigators suspect that Tymur Mindich, a one-time business partner of Zelenskyy, was the plot’s mastermind. Mindich has fled the country, with any criminal proceedings against him likely to be carried out in absentia. Two top government ministers have resigned in the scandal.

The corruption scandal has rocked Ukraine and intensified troubles for Zelenskyy as he seeks continued support from Western countries for Ukraine’s war effort and tries to ensure continued foreign funding. The European Union, which Ukraine wants to join, has told Zelenskyy he must crack down on graft.

(with inputs from agencies)

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