Yermak charged with corruption and money laundering: world media on the scandal surrounding Zelensky’s former head of the OP

Former head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Yermak has been charged with corruption and money laundering.

The case has become the lead story in major world publications — the Financial Times, Politico, the Associated Press, Reuters, The Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

According to the FT, Yermak has become the subject of a major corruption investigation. The outlet notes that Zelensky once relied on him so heavily that the two were virtually inseparable, and that Yermak himself was widely said to behave as though he were the president.

Reuters describes the new charge against the former office chief as “the deepest penetration of anti-corruption bodies into the president’s inner circle.” The agency also notes that for years, corruption allegations against Zelensky’s entourage caused him little harm, but that they are now “hitting the mark.”

The Associated Press characterizes the situation as an embarrassment for Zelensky: Yermak was his trusted confidant, and the president long resisted pressure to replace him. According to the agency, Yermak remained an influential figure in the government.

Politico notes that the corruption scandal in Kyiv threatens Zelensky’s ambition to join the European Union.

The WSJ recalls that Yermak once dared to walk onto the stages of summits to be photographed with heads of state — something, the outlet assesses, no other official would have ventured to do. Today, he has appeared in court as a suspect in a large-scale corruption case.