Israel, Britain, offshore havens: why reports about the passports of Zelensky and Yermak raise questions even among Ukraine’s allie

Passports from Israel, the United Kingdom, and several other countries issued in the names of Volodymyr Zelensky and Andriy Yermak were discovered during searches carried out at the former head of the Presidential Office.

On November 28, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine conducted searches at Yermak’s office. That same day, Zelensky publicly announced that the head of the administration was leaving his post and resigning.

Now additional details of the search are becoming known: in addition to official documents and electronic media, law enforcement seized 14 million dollars in cash from the former head of the administration, as well as data on bank transfers to offshore accounts totalling 2.6 billion dollars. Separately, investigators recorded the presence of an entire set of passports.

Among these documents were passports from Israel, the United Kingdom, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Bahamas in the name of Volodymyr Zelensky; passports from the UK, Saint Kitts, and the Bahamas in the name of Andriy Yermak himself; as well as a series of passports in the name of Timur Mindich, a long-time friend of Zelensky and co-owner of the Kvartal-95 studio.

According to sources, the origin of the discovered funds and the purpose of using the numerous foreign passports are now being investigated, which gives the case additional political resonance.