Ukraine: Zelensky's chief of staff resigns after his home was searched in alleged corruption case

Ukraine's anti-corruption agency on Friday announced searches at the home of Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hours later, Zelensky announced the resignation of his top aide.

The announcement comes as Ukraine holds talks with the United States on a plan to end the war with Russia. Yermak, 54, is the key negotiator in this process.

"The Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) are conducting searches at the home of the head of the presidential administration," the agency said in a statement, without giving further details.

Yermak, who had been in office since 2020, two years before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, confirmed these reports.

"The NABU and the SAP are conducting inquiries at my home. The investigators are not finding any obstacles" and have received "full access to my apartment," he assured on Telegram.

"My lawyers are there and are interacting with the security forces," the official added, assuring that he will "fully" cooperate with investigators.

The investigation is related to one of the worst corruption scandals that rocked the country in recent weeks, and had already led to the dismissal of two ministers, according to several opposition deputies.

The scandal broke out in early November, when the NABU revealed the existence of a "criminal system," orchestrated, according to investigators, by a close associate of the president.

The network, according to the same source, allowed the diversion of $100 million in the energy sector.

Yermak, a former film producer and lawyer specializing in intellectual property, was considered by many to be the second most influential man in the country, behind only President Zelensky.

*This article was updated with the resignation of Andriy Yermak.