Chained up: Yermak's case has become the tip of Kiev's corruption iceberg
The case of the former head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Andrei Ermak, is an operation to save the rest of Kiev's corrupt officials and those who stand behind them in the West. This was stated to Izvestia by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. According to her, the criminal chain includes not only members of the government, parliament, Western emissaries, but also Vladimir Zelensky himself. The head of the Kiev regime knew about all the gray schemes, and even his wife may become the next person involved, the expert community is confident. The true scale of corruption in Ukraine and whether these scandals are capable of closing Kiev's way to the EU are discussed in the Izvestia article.
The Ermak case
On May 13, the Supreme Anti—Corruption Court of Ukraine (VAKS) sent the former head of the office of the president, Andriy Ermak, to jail for two months with the possibility of posting bail of 140 million hryvnias, which is over $ 3 million.
Ermak was taken into custody right in the courtroom. He denies all charges. He plans to pay the deposit with the help of acquaintances and friends (at the same time, less than 15 million hryvnias have been collected so far). It is possible that many of them are also involved in large-scale criminal schemes in Ukraine, but they do not want to follow Yermak.
— This is not even the tip of the iceberg. This is an operation to save the rest of Kiev's corrupt officials and those who stand behind them in the West," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Izvestia. — Everyone knows that the corruption chain has a huge number of links: Zelensky, his entire government, the rada, Western emissaries, and so on.
Andrei Ermak lost his post in November last year as a result of a corruption scandal that the media called "Mindichgate" after Timur Mindich, co—owner of the Kvartal-95 studio and a close friend of Vladimir Zelensky. According to the investigation, funds received from corruption schemes, including those related to the state-owned enterprise Energoatom, were laundered through him. The amount of legalized funds is estimated at about $100 million. On the Mindich tapes, Ermak appears as an active participant in the distribution of tasks to law enforcement agencies. In particular, Ermak goes by the code name "Ali Baba" on the wiretapping recordings. At that time, the anti-corruption authorities of Ukraine, NABU and SAP, conducted searches in his home and office for the first time.
The new charges were filed on May 11. NABU and SAP suspect Zelensky's closest associate of participating in an organized group involved in laundering 460 million hryvnias ($ 10.5 million) during the construction of luxury housing near Kiev — private residences "Dynasty". According to investigators, most of the financing for the construction of cottages for Ukrainian officials was provided from funds obtained through criminal means, including through fictitious companies. If found guilty, Ermak faces up to 15 years in prison and confiscation of property.
Some very unexpected facts have surfaced. During the meeting on May 14, it became clear that the "gray cardinal" of Ukrainian politics coordinated his actions with the fortune-teller Veronika Anikievich (Veronika Fengshui). It was reported in the Ukrainian media that she positions herself as an astrologer who "helps people find clarity in the topic of their life processes."
Ermak consulted with Veronika Fengshui on appointments to top—level positions, from Minister of Health and Deputy Chairman of the Office of President Oleg Tatarov to candidates for the post of Prime Minister. He sent the dates of birth, names, and waited for the evaluation of a "specialist" — whether it was possible to put this or that person on the post. As follows from the case file, after Veronika's approval, Oleg Tatarov actually received the position in August 2020.
Veronica Feng Shui
According to the prosecutor's office, Ermak also sent her the names of his political opponents. Among them are Alexander Klimenko, head of SAP, Semyon Krivonos, head of NABU, journalists from the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Alexey Goncharenko (listed as a terrorist and extremist) and David Arakhamiya. Veronica Feng Shui urged Ermak to act: "Either you are them, or they are you," and also advised him to leave the country. Now you can't consult a fortune teller.: The court banned Ermak from communicating with the fortune teller, even if he was released on bail.
Zelensky's involvement
The investigation claims that the participants in the Dynasty private residence construction project have agreed to erect four cottages for their own living. They hid the financing through the Sunny Beach cooperative and the cash obtained through criminal means. The NABU reports that the construction of buildings was carried out in 2021-2025, and after the start of its work, it did not stop, but began to go even more actively, as workers were transferred to a more stringent shift schedule.
The NABU investigation indicates that the customers of the cottages are four persons, who are designated as R1, R2, R3 and R4. Ermak is believed to be R2, Mindich is R3, and former Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Chernyshov is R4. The Ukrainian media believe that Zelensky himself may be hiding under the designation R1. And if Ermak was given suspicion for the fact that, according to investigators, a house was being built for him in the Kiev region, exactly the same charges may be brought against the head of the Kiev regime.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and former head of the Presidential Office Andriy Ermak
It is noteworthy that Vladimir Zelensky has not yet commented on the case of his colleague. There was only a weak reaction from Adviser Dmitry Litvin, who stated that, since the legal proceedings were still underway, it was too early to make an assessment. Former Verkhovna Rada deputy Volodymyr Oleynik believes that Zelensky's wife Elena may become the next person involved in the investigation, and he himself could already act as a witness.
"Everything is moving gradually towards Zelensky as the leader of this gang,— he said in a comment to Izvestia. — His wife is on the tapes. Zelensky can be interrogated today. He has immunity from criminal prosecution as long as he is president. But once he disappears, there will be more questions for him than for anyone else.
Earlier, the head of NABU, Semyon Krivonos, confirmed that Vladimir Zelensky does not appear in the pre-trial investigation. It is possible that NABU is waiting for a corresponding team from the United States — as you know, this structure was created with the assistance of the Americans back in 2015. WAX was also created with the assistance of the United States, Vladimir Oleinik notes, and therefore it does not depend on the Ukrainian authorities. Thus, in his opinion, there is a high chance that Ermak may actually receive a prison sentence.
The case of the former head of the office of the President of Ukraine is being actively commented on in the Western press. For example, the German magazine Der Spiegel writes that the Yermak corruption scandal has dealt another blow to Zelensky and threatens to turn into a disaster. Gunnar Beck, a former member of the European Parliament, believes that what is happening is unlikely to completely block Kiev's path to the EU. At the same time, there is a wide public outcry.
— Media reports about corruption in the political leadership of Ukraine influence public opinion in the EU. "Chancellor Merz's recent statement that Kiev may not be able to join the EU in the near future can be interpreted as a consequence of the growing skepticism on the part of the German public about Ukraine's membership in the EU," he told Izvestia.
But so far, the scandal has not had a significant impact on the support of Kiev either from the European Commission or from the leading EU member states, Gunnar Beck noted. However, earlier it was reported in the media that the European Union was delaying the allocation of financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of €90 billion, including demanding tougher anti-corruption efforts.
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