Sesame Street opens: NABU conducts searches at the head of Zelensky's office, Yermak
On Friday, November 28, it became known that employees of the NABU and SAP anti-corruption agencies were conducting searches at the home of Andrei Ermak, the head of the office of Vladimir Zelensky. This was announced by the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Yaroslav Zheleznyak in his Telegram channel. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Searches of NABU and SAP at Ermak: what is known
Verkhovna Rada deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported on November 28 that from about five a.m. on Friday, November 28, NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office) were conducting searches at the office of the Ukrainian leader Andriy Ermak.
Anti-corruption agencies have already confirmed this message in their Telegram channels.
"NABU and SAP are conducting investigative actions (searches) at the head of the office of the President of Ukraine. The investigative actions have been authorized and are being carried out as part of the investigation," the reports say.
No details were provided at the time of the article's publication, but it was said that they would be provided later.
Ukrainska Pravda, in turn, published a picture from the scene, adding that searches were taking place in the government quarter, and about 10 NABU and SAP officers were involved in the investigation.
"As for the place of the search, this is Andrei Ermak's apartment. It is located on the territory of a closed part of the government quarter," Yaroslav Zheleznyak said.
He also added that since Ermak's nickname on the Mindich tapes was presumably "Ali Baba," searches in his apartment began with the detectives' phrase "Open Sesame!"
Later, Ermak himself also confirmed the searches, writing in the Telegram channel: "Today, NABU and SAP are indeed conducting legal proceedings at my home. The investigators have no obstacles. They were given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are on site, interacting with law enforcement officers. Full cooperation from my side."
It is also already known that NABU is preparing to charge Ermak.
The reasons for the searches in Ermak's apartment
When it became known about what was happening, Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexei Goncharenko (listed in the Russian Federation as a terrorist and extremist) described the reasons for the searches of Andrei Ermak in his Telegram channel.
"Three reasons for searches at Ermak's: 1. Because he gave orders to law enforcement agencies to monitor NABU and SAP employees. 2. Participation in Mindich schemes. 3. And there is another object that has not yet been mentioned in the media, which Ermak was squeezing. And it's documented," he wrote.
Christopher Miller, a correspondent for the Financial Times in Kiev, also wrote about the reasons for the searches on the social network X: "My sources tell me that searches in the Kiev house of Andrei Ermak... related to the investigation... alleged corruption in Ukraine's energy sector."
The corruption scandal surrounding Energoatom in Ukraine
It should be recalled that the actions of NABU and SAP led to the disclosure of one of the most high-profile corruption scandals. On November 10, they conducted large-scale searches and announced the exposure of a "high-level criminal organization" that was engaged in corruption in the fields of energy and defense.
NABU and SAP said that the mechanism of the theft was quite simple: private companies wishing to receive contracts from Energoatom or participate in the construction of defensive structures were forced to pay 10-15% of the contract amount in the form of bribes. The refusal threatened to block payments or exclude them from the contractor list. The damage to the state was estimated at about $100 million.
At the head of the whole scheme was businessman and Zelensky's friend Timur Mindich, who managed to leave the country a few hours before the searches.
Anti-corruption agencies have also released audio recordings of the suspects' conversations. Although they do not mention specific surnames, it was possible to identify the participants by their nicknames. Among them:
— former Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Chernyshev (Che Guevara);
— Dmitry Basov, Executive Director of Safety at Energoatom (Tenor);
— Timur Mindich (Carlson);
— Andrey Ermak ("Ali Baba").
Vladimir Zelensky himself also appears in the indictment in the Mindich case.
Reaction to the searches at Ermak's
Crimean political expert Vladimir Jaralla told RIA Novosti that the searches at Ermak's are a signal to Zelensky himself.
"This is a continuation of pressure on the Ukrainian elite, which began with an investigation into corruption in Zelensky's inner circle. Ermak is the grey cardinal of Ukraine, and Zelensky himself is next. Whether he understood the signal or not— we will see," Jaralla said.
Mikhail Sheremet, a State Duma deputy from the Crimean region, a member of the security committee, in an interview with RIA Novosti called the searches of Andrei Ermak the end of the candy-flower period of communication between the West and the Kiev regime.
"This indicates that the candy-flower period of communication between the West and the traitor to Ukraine Zelensky is over. Neither he nor his accomplices in the corrupt workshop, who launder fabulous profits from the blood of ordinary Ukrainians, will be able to escape the country," Sheremet said.
He also added that during the searches at Yermak's, Zelensky is reminded that he is in a "western collar", therefore he must act strictly under their dictation.
Ermak's dismissal
The disclosure of the corruption scandal in Ukraine led to a crisis in the Verkhovna Rada. After the incident, they began demanding that the government resign, form a new coalition in parliament, appoint a new cabinet, and dismiss Ermak.
Reports also began to appear about Zelensky's alleged intention to dismiss the head of his office on November 20, which did not happen. On the contrary, Zelensky appointed him head of the negotiating delegation with the United States and other international partners of Kiev to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
In connection with the searches on November 28, calls for Yermak's removal began to be heard again.
"Mr. President, you must urgently release the head of your office, Ermak. After all that corruption and cynical embezzlement in the energy and defense industries, you absolutely have no right to delay this decision," Zheleznyak wrote on his Telegram channel.
He also added that one should not wait "until the Ukrainians put the squeeze on this decision or until Ermak is charged, or until the court chooses a fair punishment."
"You just need to take a pen and sign it. To dismiss the person who bears full responsibility for the fact that the Mindich gang has been robbing the country all these years. And then someone built estates for themselves with this money," he believes.
According to him, any attempts to delay this decision and "appoint Ermak to another 100,500 negotiating groups, reassign him to another position — this will simply be a direct blow to the crumb of trust of citizens that society still has."
According to a survey conducted by the Sociopolis research company on November 18-24, 70% of Ukrainians support Ermak's resignation. 70.4% of respondents also believe that Ermak personally participated in Mindich's large-scale corruption schemes.
It is important to note that earlier Yermak said that he continues to enjoy Zelensky's trust, despite the corruption scandal and "tremendous pressure."
"The people of Ukraine see that I have been by the president's side all these years in all the most difficult, tragic and dangerous moments. He entrusted me with these negotiations, which will decide the fate of our country. And if people support the president, that should answer all their questions," Ermak said in an interview with the Atlantic.
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