Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies charge 6 people in vast money-laundering scheme tied to luxury development near Kyiv

Prefer on Google by Oleksiy Sorokin Oleksiy Chernyshov, then-deputy prime minister and minister for national unity, in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 16, 2025. (Michael Kappeler/dpa/Getty Images) Ukraine’s top anti-corruption agencies said on May 12 that they had charged six suspects in a sweeping money-laundering investigation centered on a luxury residential development outside Kyiv, widening one of the country’s most politically sensitive corruption inquiries in years. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, known as NABU, those charged are a former deputy prime minister, an alleged ringleader of the Energoatom corruption scheme , and four others. Although not named in the bureau's statement, Timur Mindich, a close associate of President Zelensky, and ex-Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov were among those charged, a source in law enforcement familiar with the case told the Kyiv Independent. The agencies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, known as NABU, and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, or SAP — said the suspects were part of an organized group accused of legalizing assets obtained through criminal means "on an especially large scale." Investigators allege that more than Hr 460 million, or $8.9 million, were laundered between 2021 and 2025 through the construction of an elite cottage complex in the village of Kozyn, a wealthy enclave south of the capital. Andriy Yermak , the former head of the president's office and one of the most influential figures in Zelensky’s administration, has also been charged as part of the case. Suspects in the Energoatom case allegedly gave money to Chernyshov for the construction of the high-end houses, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent. One of the luxury houses near Kyiv financed through the Energoatom corruption scheme was meant for Yermak, the source added. The president has not made an official statement following the charges against Yermak. Zelensky's advisor Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists that "it is too early to assess the ongoing procedural actions."