Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have formally notified Andriy Yermak, the former head of the presidential office, of suspicion in a major money‑laundering case. Under Ukrainian law, that notification is equivalent to filing charges in court.
Authorities accuse Yermak of participating in an organized group that laundered funds, a crime that can carry an eight to 12‑year prison term. Investigators say the group routed about 460 million hryvnia (roughly €9 million / $10.5 million) through a luxury housing development near Kyiv. Six other people have also been charged.
SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko called the allegations “particularly serious” and said prosecutors are still assembling evidence. NABU and SAPO asked the specialized anti‑corruption court to order two months of pretrial detention for Yermak. Later in the week, authorities took him into custody on the money‑laundering charge and set bail at $3.2 million.
According to investigators, elements of the case trace back to 2018, when a member of the alleged group helped found the company BLOOM Development. In 2019 the company purchased more than four hectares of land outside Kyiv and two years later began building a luxury complex called Dynasty. Prosecutors say the site was used to funnel illegal proceeds into the legitimate economy through fictitious paperwork, cash deals and shell companies.
Prosecutors allege the funds originated from a variety of sources, including corrupt schemes tied to the state nuclear energy company Energoatom. Media reports identify the alleged ringleader, known by the alias “Karlson,” as businessman Timur Mindich. Mindich is a former business partner and close associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and is co‑owner of Kvartal 95, the TV production firm Zelenskyy helped found.
Yermak has been viewed as Ukraine’s second‑most powerful official. His office and private residence were searched by NABU in November 2025 in connection with this probe; he resigned as head of the presidential office earlier in the investigation, a move officials said was intended to help restore confidence in the presidency. Yermak has denied wrongdoing, calling the allegations unfounded and saying he does not own a property in the Dynasty complex. He has said he will remain in Ukraine and continue working as a lawyer.
Speculation in some media has suggested that one of the Dynasty homes could be linked to President Zelenskyy through intermediaries. NABU has rejected that claim: “The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was not and is not the subject of the preliminary investigations by NABU and SAPO,” NABU head Semen Kryvonos said.
Analysts warn the case could nonetheless harm Zelenskyy politically. Ukrainian political scientist Petro Oleshchuk said the affair—particularly the Mindich connection—will keep resurfacing and could shape public perceptions of the president, even if it does not produce immediate consequences. He noted opponents and external actors might exploit the story to keep attention on the issue.
Volodymyr Fesenko of the Penta think tank made a similar point about future risk. While the president currently enjoys immunity from investigation, Fesenko said compromising material tied to this case and the wider “Mindichgate” narrative could be used against Zelenskyy once the war ends and an election campaign begins.
Zelenskyy has not publicly commented on the investigation. His communications adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, told reporters that procedural steps are still under way and it is too early to draw conclusions.
For now, NABU and SAPO continue gathering evidence and pursuing detention measures for Yermak while denying that the president is under investigation. Observers say the immediate legal focus remains on Yermak and other suspects, but the political reverberations for Zelenskyy may play out over months or years, especially once presidential immunity no longer applies.
This article was originally written in Ukrainian.