What is known about the searches at the home of Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine?

"The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) are carrying out investigative actions (searches) at the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The investigative actions are authorized and are being carried out as part of the investigation. Details to follow," the statement said.

Yermak himself confirmed the searches at his home and stated his full cooperation with investigators, writes BBC - Ukraine.

"Today, NABU and SAPO are indeed carrying out procedural actions at my home. There are no obstacles for the investigators. They were given full access to the apartment, my lawyers are on the spot, interacting with law enforcement officers," he wrote on Telegram.

It is not yet known in which case the searches are taking place and what Yermak's status is. NABU has not yet commented on the situation.

Recently, the opposition and some deputies from the pro-presidential "Servant of the People" demanded the resignation of Andriy Yermak from the post of head of the Presidential Office. This happened as a result of a corruption scandal in the energy sector, the so-called "Mindichgate".

President Zelenskyy, it seems, does not intend to dismiss Yermak yet.

In early November, NABU and SAPO conducted searches at the home of another close friend of the president, businessman Timur Mindich. He left the country a few hours before the arrival of law enforcement. All of this resulted in a high-profile corruption scandal. The suspects, including Mindich and accomplices, allegedly collected kickbacks from suppliers of "Energoatom".

According to detectives, the amount involved is hundreds of millions of dollars.

MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that Yermak appears as "Ali Baba" on the NABU recordings. However, this information has not been officially confirmed.

Earlier, the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Oleksandr Klymenko, stated that "Ali Baba" is on the tapes. According to him, "Ali Baba" gives instructions to persecute NABU detectives.

The so-called "Mindichgate" launched a full-scale political crisis in Ukraine. Ministers of Justice Herman Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grinchuk were dismissed. Their names appear on the NABU recordings.

NABU says that the investigation is ongoing and it is still necessary to find out to whom and how the corrupt money was transferred. Most recently, Andriy Yermak conducted peace talks on behalf of Ukraine with representatives of the United States in Geneva.

The day before, his interview was published in the influential The Atlantic, in which he stated that Ukraine would not give up its territories for the sake of peace.

Who is Andriy Yermak

In 2025, Politico, citing sources, called Yermak a "tough political puppeteer" and a person who can talk to President Zelenskyy "on equal terms."

He was jokingly called the vice president, although there is no such position in Ukraine. During Zelenskyy's rule, Yermak became a key figure in Ukrainian power.

What is known about the head of the Presidential Office?

51-year-old Yermak, like Zelenskyy himself, was a novice in politics. He has a degree in international law and has worked in the field of law and film production.

Until 2019, he was mainly engaged in legal practice for more than 20 years. The clients of the company he founded were the largest television channels and international film companies, such as Disney, Pixar or Universal. Shortly before entering politics, Yermak even produced several films himself. His activities in this field seriously influenced his future fate. This is how he met many Hollywood stars - and he will use these acquaintances in the future.

And when one of the largest Ukrainian TV channels, "Inter", was Yermak's client, he met its general producer. The general producer at that time was Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Later, Zelenskyy would say: at first, according to his plan, Yermak was supposed to take the post of Deputy Prime Minister for the occupied territories and negotiate the exchange of prisoners with Russia. However, it was later decided that the government post would limit Yermak's contacts - so he received the position of presidential aide. Immediately after winning the presidential election, he prepared Zelenskyy's international trips, meetings with foreign leaders, and took over negotiations in the "Normandy format".

Yermak also managed to establish close contacts with the team of then-US President Donald Trump. However, these relations later caused a scandal, which resulted in the start of the impeachment procedure of the American president - all because of his alleged pressure on Zelenskyy. The head of the Presidential Office "extinguished" the situation inside Ukraine, constantly emphasizing that it is impossible to put pressure on the president, and the Americans should figure it out themselves - this is their internal story.

He also became Zelenskyy's chief negotiator with Russia, ousting Viktor Medvedchuk from this field. Yermak held regular meetings and telephone conversations with the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Kozak. From the first day of the large-scale war, Yermak's influence grew rapidly, and in addition to foreign policy, it also extended to domestic policy.

The well-known military journalist Yuriy Butusov believes that it was Yermak who was behind the removal of the head of the SBU and the Prosecutor General on July 17, 2022.

"Yermak dismissed Bakanov and Venediktova and ensured control over the entire law enforcement system. Zelenskyy entrusted Yermak with all power and his re-election," Butusov said in the summer of 2022.

"We do not have a fully functional Cabinet of Ministers. Instead, we have a kind of quasi-government led by Yermak, who controls access to the president's agenda and the president himself," said Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center.

It is difficult to find any protocol photo of President Zelenskyy in which this tall, stooping man is not next to him. Due to the difference in height, it sometimes seems that he is simply looming over Zelenskyy.

The Financial Times wrote that Zelenskyy and Yermak grew closer during the full-scale invasion - they spend time together after work, can play tennis or watch movies. They train together in the gym.

Andriy Yermak dedicates himself entirely to work. He has no children and is not married, so he can be constantly next to the president if necessary, the publication wrote. Andriy Yermak was next to Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the most important events - from Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv to Zelenskyy's trips to Washington and other important international trips.

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