The Ukrainian anti-corruption agency announced on Friday that it was conducting searches at the home of Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The search is part of an ongoing investigation, according to the National Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU). The search was carried out in conjunction with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).
The authorities are not yet willing to disclose the exact reasons for the action or what was found. Yermak says he is cooperating.
"The investigators are not being hindered in any way," he writes on Telegram and X. "I am cooperating fully."
The influential cabinet chief is not commenting on the content of the investigation.
Corruption is a long-standing problem in Ukraine. Zelenskyy's government has been confronted with several alleged scandals in recent months.
Last week, for example, the president ordered an investigation into the country's defence industry. The investigation is a consequence of a major corruption scandal in the energy sector.
According to the president, fundamental changes are needed in state-owned defence industry companies and the contracts they conclude.
Two prominent Ukrainian ministers recently had to resign in connection with the bribery scandal at energy company Energoatom. One of Zelenskyy's business partners, Israeli-Ukrainian businessman Timur Mindich, is considered one of the main suspects. He has fled the country to Israel.
Within his party, Zelenskyy came under pressure last week to dismiss Andriy Yermak as his top adviser in response to the scandals, but the president did not do so. Yermak is seen by parliamentarians as an excessively powerful figure who is said to have been the driving force behind attempts to strip anti-corruption services of their independence.
The man who is considered Zelenskyy's right-hand man also plays an important role in the talks with the US to end the war in Ukraine. He leads the Ukrainian negotiating team.
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This article was updated at 10.40 am.
