Zelenskyy's former chief of staff released on €2.7 million bail

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · May 18, 2026 · 286 words · By Sasha Vakulina

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What to know about Zelenskyy's former chief of staff released on €2.7 million bail

According to Ukraine's anti-corruption investigators, Andriy Yermak is a suspect in a large money laundering probe tied to the construction of a luxury residence complex outside Kyiv.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

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

What happened

According to Ukraine's anti-corruption investigators, Andriy Yermak is a suspect in a large money laundering probe tied to the construction of a luxury residence complex outside Kyiv.

Why it matters

The former chief of staff of Ukraine's President Volodmyr Zelenskyy was released on €2.7million bail on Monday after spending four days in custody as part of a major anti-corruption investigation.

Common ground

The bail was reportedly paid by multiple sources after Andriy Yermak said on 13 May that he could not afford to pay it himself and would "rely on friends for help." According to Ukraine's anti-corruption investigators, Yermak is a suspect in a large money…

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 released on €2.7 million bail?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that 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?
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/2026/05/18/zelenskyys-former-chief-of-staff-r…

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

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “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

The claim is directly supported by a cross-reference from EuroNews and corroborated by other web search results mentioning the laundering of funds for a project in Kozyn.

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web search NEUTRAL — Nabu wore a horned cap, and stood with his hands clasped in the ancient gesture of priesthood. He rode on a winged dragon known as Sirrush that originally belonged to his father Marduk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabu

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web search NEUTRAL — Founded in 1899, NABU (The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union) is Germany’s oldest and largest environmental association. With more than 980,000 members and supporters and 70,000 active volunt…
https://en.nabu.de/

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 13, 2026 · NABU is a tech-enabled publisher of multilingual children’s books. We create culturally responsive, mother-tongue stories more efficiently and at a scale never achieved before.
https://www.nabu.org/

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 2: “Andriy Yermak is a suspect in a large money laundering probe tied to the construction of a luxury residence complex outside Kyiv.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that Andriy Yermak is suspected of money laundering tied to a housing project/residence complex.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Court hearings are continuing in Ukraine in the case of Andriy Yermak, the former Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. On the evening of May 11, Kyiv’s anti-corruption agencies notified Yer…
https://theins.press/en/economics/292630

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web search NEUTRAL — Andriy Yermak is in court. He is suspected of money laundering. There is talk of influence on SBU and personnel decisions with Feng Shui — a complete (for now) anthology of accusations and questions f…
https://babel.ua/en/texts/126932-andriy-yermak-is-in-court-h…

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web search NEUTRAL — Anti-graft agencies say Andriy Yermak suspected of participating in criminal group that laundered $10.5m in housing project, which he denies ownership in.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/12/zelenskyy-ex-c…

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Claim 3: “the group planned to construct four private mansions, each roughly 1,000 square metres in size, along with a shared wellness complex featuring a spa and swimming pool.”

CORROBORATED

A web search result specifically details the allegation that the group planned four private mansions of roughly 1,000 square meters and a shared wellness complex.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 4: “Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau said last week that Zelenskyy has no connection to the corruption investigation.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim that NABU stated Zelenskyy has no connection to the investigation.

verified

Claim 5: “Andriy Yermak said on 13 May that he could not afford to pay it himself and would "rely on friends for help."”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about the month of May and definitions, with no mention of Yermak's statements regarding bail payment.

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wikipedia 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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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Iuliia Volodymyrivna Mendel (Ukrainian: Юлія Володимирівна Мендель; born 3 September 1986) is a Ukrainian journalist and political advisor. She was the press secretary in the administration of Ukraini…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iuliia_Mendel

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Yermak, Ermak or Jermak (Russian: Ермак; Ukrainian: Єрмак) is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Yermak Timofeyevich (born between 1532–1542), Russian explorer and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yermak_(name)

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 6: “If convicted, he could face up to 12 years in jail.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided consists of dictionary definitions for the word 'maximum' and general Wikipedia bios, but contains no information regarding the specific legal sentencing for Yermak's charges.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Andriy Yosypovych Bohdan (Ukrainian: Андрій Йосипович Богдан; born 3 December 1976) is a Ukrainian lawyer and former Head of the Presidential Administration. On 21 May 2019, President Volodymyr Zelen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Bohdan

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 7: “the financing was funnelled over several years via the multi-million dollar corruption scheme centred around the state nuclear monopoly Enerhoatom.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly link the laundering of funds for the elite residence complex to corruption schemes at JSC 'NNEGC Energoatom'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — laundering funds obtained from corruption crimes, in particular – as a result of the implementation of corruption schemes at JSC 'NNEGC 'Energoatom' (72% of the total financing volume); cash provided …
https://unn.ua/en/news/new-suspicions-in-the-case-of-launder…

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web search NEUTRAL — Former head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak has responded to allegations tying him to money laundering linked to the construction of the “Dynasty” cottage community in Kozyn. Yermak described…
https://www.uawire.org/former-presidential-office-chief-andr…

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web search NEUTRAL — Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ordered the pre-trial detention of Andriy Yermak, the powerful former head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Office and once the country’s second-most influential…
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/zelenskyys-former-right-ha…

info

Claim 8: “The former chief of staff of Ukraine's President Volodmyr Zelenskyy was released on €2.7million bail on Monday after spending four days in custody as part of a major anti-corruption investigation.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the arrest and suspicion are corroborated, the specific detail regarding the €2.7 million bail and the exact duration of four days in custody is not explicitly confirmed by multiple independent sources in the provided evidence.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events in the year 2025 in Ukraine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_Ukraine

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A massive missile attack on Ukraine occurred on 8 July 2024 during the Russo-Ukrainian War. Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kropyvnytskyi, and Pokrovsk came under fire from more than forty missiles of the R…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_July_2024_Russian_strikes_on…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On August 18, 2025, a hurried summit of eight European leaders convened at the White House to discuss the aftermath of the 2025 Russia–United States summit in Alaska. Robust security guarantees for Uk…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_2025_White_House_multil…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “One of the four houses financed through the corruption scheme was allegedly meant for Yermak.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources mention Yermak's accusation of laundering funds for luxury accommodation near Kyiv, with some specifically noting the project's nature, although he denies ownership.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Andriy Yermak, who was until late last year the president’s closest advisor, was accused of laundering some UAH 460 million (£7.73m) through luxury accommodation near Kyiv. He denies ownership in the …
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-zele…

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web search NEUTRAL — Andriy Yermak, long regarded as Ukraine's "eminence grise," has been taken into custody. The former Head of the Presidential Office, who once shaped the nation's foreign and domestic policy, is now fo…
https://buzb.uz/en/news/former-head-of-zelenskyys-office-rem…

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.