Will Ukraine corruption scandal reach Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Key takeaways
- A drawn-out corruption affair in Ukraine has widened, with authorities now taking action against Andriy Yermak, former head of the presidential office.
- Under Ukrainian law, this step is equivalent to filing charges in court.
- Yermak was accused of "money laundering as part of an organized group," a charge that can lead to a prison sentence of eight to 12 years.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
A drawn-out corruption affair in Ukraine has widened, with authorities now taking action against Andriy Yermak, former head of the presidential office. Will the scandal reach all the way to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
https://p.dw.com/p/5Dl LCAndriy Yermak (left) was long considered Ukraine's second-most powerful person, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right)Image: Violeta Santos Moura/REUTERSAdvertisement On Monday, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) filed a notice of suspicion against Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Ukrainian presidential office. Under Ukrainian law, this step is equivalent to filing charges in court.
Yermak was accused of "money laundering as part of an organized group," a charge that can lead to a prison sentence of eight to 12 years. According to anti-corruption authorities, the group to which Yermak is alleged to have belonged is estimated to have laundered 460 million hryvnia (€9 million/$10.5 million) in connection with a luxury construction project near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Charges have also been filed against six other people.