Zelenskyy's top aide Yermak raided amid major energy corruption probe: Details

Key questions:

• The searches at Yermak's home began on the morning of November 28.

• Journalists and members of parliament, Yaroslav Zheleznyak and Oleksiy Honcharenko, were the first to report the actions.

• NABU and SAP confirmed the searches, assuring that all actions are court-sanctioned.

• Yermak stated that the searches are taking place in his apartment and that he is cooperating with the detectives.

• RBC-Ukraine sources suggest the searches may be related to Operation Midas, an anti-corruption investigation in the energy sector.

• A Financial Times journalist linked the searches at the President’s Office head to NABU's probe into potential corruption in the energy industry.

Reaction from the EU and Poland

The European Union also reacted.

Guillaume Mercier, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said that fighting corruption was a central part of the EU enlargement package.

"Our position is clear: any investigation demonstrates that anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine are acting within their mandate," he said.

The EU spokesperson reiterated that the fight against corruption "is key" to Ukraine's ability to join the EU. This requires appropriate efforts to ensure the capacity to fight corruption and uphold the rule of law.

"The Commission will continue to monitor the situation closely," Mercier added.

Poland’s Defense Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, referring to reports about the searches, stated that “the strategy to support Ukraine remains unchanged,” according to PAP. He also emphasized the importance of transparency in Ukraine’s anti-corruption policy.

"We are awaiting clarification," the minister said.

Details of the searches

According to RBC-Ukraine sources, NABU and SAP conducted the searches based on a ruling from the High Anti-Corruption Court. No one has been formally charged, and the investigation is ongoing.

Initially, media reports and statements from MPs revealed that the searches were taking place in the government quarter on the morning of November 28. Around ten NABU and SAP officers entered the premises.

"NABU and SAP are conducting searches at Andriy Yermak's residence this morning,” wrote Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament from the Voice party, on his Telegram channel.

A similar report was published on Telegram by Oleksiy Honcharenko, an MP from European Solidarity.

Later, the anti-corruption agencies confirmed the searches targeting Yermak.

"NABU and SAP are carrying out investigative actions (searches) at the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The investigative actions are authorized and are being conducted within the framework of an investigation," NABU and SAP said in a statement.

Detectives promised to provide details later.

The head of the Presidential Office himself confirmed that investigative actions were indeed underway, but said they were taking place at his home.

"Today, NABU and SAP are indeed conducting procedural actions at my home. There are no obstacles for the investigators. They were given full access to the apartment, and my lawyers are present on-site, interacting with law enforcement. From my side, there is full cooperation," Yermak wrote on social media.

Yermak appears in the 'Mindich tapes'?

RBC-Ukraine source indicates that the searches are likely linked to Operation Midas, NABU’s probe into large-scale corruption in the energy sector.

Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller reported on X that the searches at Yermak’s Kyiv residence are connected to the investigation of potential corruption in the energy industry. NABU confirmed that the anti-corruption detectives are actively conducting the searches.

"My sources tell me the searches are at the Kyiv home of Andriy Yermak, the head of President Zelensky's office, are connected to the "Midas" investigation - the sweeping probe into alleged graft in Ukraine's energy sector. NABU confirms in its own statement now that anticorruption investigators are currently searching the premises", Miller wrote on X.

Screenshot from Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller on X

Midas: NABU's operation targeting large-scale corruption

In November 2025, NABU launched Operation Midas targeting large-scale corruption in Ukraine's energy sector.

Investigators carried out searches at the residence of Timur Mindich, co-owner of Kvartal 95 and a close associate of President Zelenskyy, who fled abroad shortly before the searches.

Other targets included former Minister Herman Halushchenko and the state company Energoatom. The investigation alleges that kickbacks of 10–15% were being collected from contracts and funneled through offices linked to Russian senator Andriy Derkach’s family.

As a result, Minister Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk were dismissed. Several others involved, including former Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, were formally charged. Chernyshov appears on the recordings under the codename “Che Guevara.”

Investigators also questioned Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, regarding potential influence from Mindich.

Amid the operation, President Zelenskyy met with government officials, parliamentary leaders, and Servant of the People deputies, announcing rapid legislative initiatives and actions for the state.

Political circles are actively discussing the possible dismissal of Yermak in connection with the “Mindich tapes.” Some MPs in the ruling party support the idea of a reorganization of the President’s Office.

Who is Andriy Yermak?

Andriy Yermak is one of the most influential and simultaneously most debated figures in modern Ukrainian politics.

In 2020, Zelenskyy appointed Yermak as head of the President’s Office. He has led the Presidential Office for more than five years, setting a record for the longest tenure in this position.

Recently, reports have spread in the media and among Ukrainian political circles about Yermak’s possible resignation amid the high-profile “Midas” corruption case.

These recordings allegedly feature a person with the nickname Ali-Baba, who gives instructions to law enforcement agencies regarding attacks on SAP and NABU, and there are rumors that this may supposedly be Andriy Yermak.

At the same time, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos has neither confirmed nor denied Yermak’s involvement in the corruption scheme.

"I cannot confirm nor deny. Because we do not confirm or deny such things," he told Ukrainska Pravda in response to a question about whether Yermak or a person under the codename "head of the Presidential Office" appears in the investigation.