Ukraine rocked by corruption scandal: Zelensky’s top negotiator raided in alleged $100mn scheme

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has come under scrutiny as the nation’s anti-corruption authorities carried out a raid at his apartment on Friday (Nov 28). This comes after investigators said that they had discovered a $100-million kickback scheme in the strategic energy sector earlier this month, sparking widespread public outrage. The revelation came at a time when Russia was blasting the country’s power grid, forcing blackouts across the country as Ukrainians faced heating outages in winter.

In a statement, the National Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU) said that the agency, along with the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), was “conducting investigative actions (searches) at the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine” without specifying the reason behind the searches. It added, “The investigative actions are sanctioned and are being carried out as part of an investigation.”

Yermak is Zelensky’s important ally in charge of the negotiations with the United States to rework the 28-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump as part of efforts to end the war with Russia. Kyiv has said that the draft favours Moscow as it demands that Ukraine cede its territories.

Despite playing a key role in negotiations, Zelensky’s chief of staff is a divisive figure in the country. His opponents have accused him of accumulating power, gate-keeping access to the president, and ruthlessly sidelining critical voices.

Earlier on Thursday (Nov 27), Yermak said that Zelensky will never cede territory to Moscow as part of a peace deal. “Not a single sane person today would sign a document to give up territory,” Andriy Yermak told The Atlantic following a week of talks with US officials over how to end the war. Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine and US officials are set to hold negotiations in Geneva at the end of this week.