Zelensky's ex-chief of staff remanded in custody
Andriy Yermak, former Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and a close confidant of President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been remanded in custody for two months by the High Anti-Corruption of Ukraine. However, he could be released on bail for the equivalent of about 2.7 million euros. He and five other people are accused of money laundering in connection with the construction of a luxury residential complex.
Investigations are a sign of progress
Former MP Mustafa Nayyem writes on Facebook:
“The very fact that such an investigation is now possible in Ukraine is a credit to its society. ... Just ten or fifteen years ago it would have been almost inconceivable that anti-corruption authorities would openly investigate such high-ranking individuals, and society would follow the proceedings live without thinking it was fiction. Not because there was no corruption back then. ... But because the state was organised in such a way that investigations like this were either never launched in the first place, quickly dropped, or turned into an exchange of signals between different political camps.”
Yermak abandoned by former allies
In a commentary on Censor.net, Ukrainian MP Viktoria Syumar underlines the fact that Yermak stood before the court without any support:
“Yermak was the classic favourite: without an electoral mandate, without public legitimacy, without a party. ... And yet he once wielded enormous power. His name was associated with personnel decisions, appointments to the Presidential Office, political deals and influence over parliament, security agencies, diplomacy and the media. ... Over the years, a system of personal loyalties developed around him. Now this system has revealed its true nature. As long as the favourite is strong, many will stand by his side. But as soon as the favourite falls, everyone suddenly acts as if they never had anything to do with him.”