Zelenskyy's former chief of staff in custody amid corruption probe

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · May 14, 2026 · 331 words · By Sasha Vakulina

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What to know about Zelenskyy's former chief of staff in custody amid corruption probe

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains silent on the case and the allegations against Andriy Yermak, who used to be the president's most trusted ally and Ukraine’s "number two." A court in Kyiv ruled on Thursday that a powerful former aide of Ukraine’s…

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Former chief of staff Andriy Yermak has been placed in custody for two months with bail set for €2.7 million.

Common ground

Yermak said he will stay behind bars as he cannot pay the sum.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Zelenskyy's former chief of staff in custody amid corruption probe?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that NABU and SAP said Zelenskyy "has not been and is not currently involved in the investigation," which also concerns Oleksiy Chernyshov, an former deputy prime minister and Timur Mindich, Zelenskyy's former business partner?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/05/14/zelenskyys-former-chief-of-staff-i…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

info Single Source 3

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “NABU and SAP said Zelenskyy "has not been and is not currently involved in the investigation," which also concerns Oleksiy Chernyshov, an former deputy prime minister and Timur Mindich, Zelenskyy's former business partner.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (Euronews, The New Voice of Ukraine) confirm that SAPO and NABU stated President Zelenskyy is not involved in the investigation, which targets Yermak, Chernyshov, and Mindich.

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web search NEUTRAL — On Tuesday, Oleksandr Klymenko, SAPO's head stated that Zelenskyy "has not been and is not currently involved in the investigation," which concerns Yermak but also Oleksiy Chernyshov, an ex-deputy pri…
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/05/12/zelenskyy-not-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not part of a pretrial investigation by Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies, NABU chief Semen Kryvonos said during a briefing attended by NV correspondents on…
https://english.nv.ua/nation/zelenskyy-not-part-of-nabu-inve…

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web search NEUTRAL — Timur Mindich, who is involved in the NABU case on embezzlement of public funds, is currently in Austria. This information emerged amid active discussion in political circles...
https://komersant.ua/en/tymur-mindich-vid-osobystykh-zv-iazk…

verified

Claim 2: “He was named as suspect on 11 May.”

VERIFIED

Directly confirmed by UAWire and other reports stating that NABU and SAP officially named Andriy Yermak as a suspect on May 11.

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web search NEUTRAL — On May 11, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) announced that former head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, had been …
https://www.uawire.org/former-presidential-office-head-yerma…

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web search NEUTRAL — Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak walk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 22, 2024.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-11/zelens…

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web search NEUTRAL — Andriy Yermak resigned in November after law enforcement agencies searched his apartment as part of a corruption investigation, but he was not charged.Credit...Gleb Garanich/Reuters.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/world/europe/ukraine-corr…

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Claim 3: “Yermak had previously served as Ukraine's lead negotiator in talks with the United States”

CORROBORATED

Confirmed by both a cross-reference (Deutsche Welle) and a web search result stating Yermak was the lead negotiator in talks with the US.

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web search NEUTRAL — Pi (π, Pi) ist eine der bekanntesten Konstanten in der Mathematik und stellt das Verhältnis des Umfangs eines Kreises zu seinem Durchmesser dar. Bereits 2000 v. Chr. begannen ägyptische und babylonisc…
https://pilookup.com/de/what-is-pi.html

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web search NEUTRAL — The number π (/ paɪ / ⓘ; spelled out as pi) is a mathematical constant, approximately equal to 3.14159, that is the ratio of a circle 's circumference to its diameter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi

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web search NEUTRAL — Da die Zahl Pi das Verhältnis zwischen der Kreisfläche und dem Quadrat des Radius ist, muss die so erhaltene Zahl noch durch das Quadrat des Radius geteilt werden. Der Radius ist in diesem Fall 1, dah…
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreiszahl

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 4: “Former chief of staff Andriy Yermak has been placed in custody for two months with bail set for €2.7 million.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the detention of Yermak is corroborated, the specific details regarding the two-month duration and the €2.7 million bail amount are not explicitly mentioned in the provided evidence snippets.

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web search NEUTRAL — Andriy Borysovych Yermak is a Ukrainian politician and former film producer who served as the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine from 2020 to 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Yermak

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web search NEUTRAL — President Volodymyr Zelensky's former right-hand man Andriy Yermak appeared in a Kyiv court on Tuesday, after he was named by Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies as a suspect in a money-laundering …
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g48kj40lwo

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web search NEUTRAL — Yermak, Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff, had been Ukraine's lead negotiator in talks with the United States but stepped down in November last year amid a major corruption probe. This is a developing…
https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-court-orders-arrest-of-zelensk…

info

Claim 5: “If convicted, he could face up to 12 years in jail.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results for this claim are completely irrelevant (discussing origami and vlogs) and do not contain information about sentencing.

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web search NEUTRAL — 创意手工折纸第44期：蝴蝶结的折纸教程来啦！
https://www.zhihu.com/zvideo/1313835740636794880

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web search NEUTRAL — 这个词是海外公众叫出来的，造词法和blog一致。Blog是web (网页）＋log (记录），vlog是video（视频）＋log（记录）。第一次发表在tropisms上，但是这个网站已经不在了。中文微录是微录团队臆造的。网上有观点说vlog诞生于youtube，也对也不对。实际youtube诞生于2004年，vlog确实是在youtube上发展起来的 ...
https://www.zhihu.com/question/312803054

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web search NEUTRAL — 京ICP证110745号 · 京ICP备13052560号-1 · 京公网安备 11010802020088 号 · 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：11220250001 · 京网文 [2025]0422-132 号 · 药品医疗器械网络信息服务备案（京）网药械信息备字（2022）第00334号 · 广播电视节目制作经营许可证:（京）字第06591号 · 互联网宗教信息服务许可证：京（2022）000…
https://www.zhihu.com/question/569126960

info

Claim 6: “One of the four houses financed through the corruption scheme was allegedly meant for Yermak.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence confirms the general corruption scheme and Yermak's involvement as a suspect, but the specific detail that one of four houses was meant for him is not explicitly corroborated across multiple sources in the provided text.

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web search NEUTRAL — Andriy Borysovych Yermak (Ukrainian: Андрій Борисович Єрмак; born 21 November 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former film producer who served as the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Yermak

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web search NEUTRAL — The resignation of Yermak, together with the earlier flight from the country of Timur Mindich – a friend of Zelensky and one of the main suspects in the corruption case involving the Energoatom conglo…
https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2025-12-01/hel…

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web search NEUTRAL — Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office and chief negotiator in the U.S.-led peace talks, resigned on Friday evening. The decision came just hours after Ukrainian anti-corruption …
https://polandinsight.com/yermak-resigns-as-anti-corruption-…

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Claim 7: “Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) are investigating a scheme where up to €9 million was laundered between 2021-2025 through the construction of a high-end residence complex in the village of Kozyn”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (NABU/SAPO reports via web search) confirm an investigation into laundering approximately $10.5 million (or 460 million UAH) between 2021-2025 for luxury housing in Kozyn.

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web search NEUTRAL — Investigators report that plots in Kozyn sold for between $4,000 and $20,000 per 100 square meters at the time.However, during the investigation, the High Anti-Corruption Court granted the request fro…
https://www.uawire.org/former-presidential-office-head-yerma…

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web search NEUTRAL — According to NABU, between 2021 and 2025 members of the group laundered $10.5 million, which they used to build luxury housing in Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast. The group planned to build four private mansions a…
https://english.nv.ua/nation/nabu-and-sapo-name-oleksiy-cher…

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web search NEUTRAL — "In total, during 2021-2025, the suspects laundered over 460 million UAH," SAP reported."During 2021-2025, the suspects laundered over 460 million UAH by erecting a cottage community in the village of…
https://unn.ua/en/news/new-suspicions-in-the-case-of-launder…

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Claim 8: “A court in Kyiv ruled on Thursday that a powerful former aide of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky be detained ahead of a high-profile trial on corruption allegations”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that a Kyiv court ordered the pre-trial detention of Andriy Yermak on suspicion of money laundering.

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web search NEUTRAL — Ukraine's anti-corruption court on Thursday ordered the pre-trial detention of Andriy Yermak, a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on suspicion of money laundering.
https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-court-orders-arrest-of-zelensk…

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Claim 9: “stepped down last autumn amid mounting pressure linked to another the anti-corruption investigation”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm Yermak stepped down in November (last autumn) amid a major corruption probe and raids on his home/office.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.