Zelensky ally accused in money-laundering probe, consulted fortune-teller

Andriy Yermak, once viewed as Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s closest adviser and political gatekeeper, was formally suspected by Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities in an alleged 460-million-hryvnia, or $10.5 million, money-laundering scheme tied to a luxury residential project near Kyiv. The case places one of the most powerful figures in wartime Ukraine at the center of the country’s biggest corruption investigation under Zelenskyy’s presidency, sharpening the test for institutions that are meant to prove they can police elite misconduct even as Russia’s war grinds on.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said the alleged laundering involved the “Dynasty” development in Kozyn, south of Kyiv, with investigators tracing the suspected scheme across 2021 to 2025. Zelenskyy himself was not named as a suspect. Yermak resigned in November 2025 after searches at his home and office, a move that came amid a widening probe known as Operation Midas, which began with alleged kickbacks at the state nuclear operator Energoatom and later expanded into Ukraine’s energy sector, defense industry, and drone and military procurement.

The political reach of the investigation widened further on May 13, 2026, when a prosecutor told the High Anti-Corruption Court that Yermak had periodically consulted a fortuneteller, identified as Veronika Anikyevich, also known as “Veronika Feng Shui Office,” on senior government appointments. The prosecutor said Yermak had sent candidates’ birthdays before appointments were made. Yermak denied consulting fortunetellers or prophets, turning the hearing into a public clash over credibility at a moment when the state is trying to show it can enforce accountability at the highest levels.

A day later, the court ordered Yermak held in pretrial detention and set bail at 140 million hryvnias, about $3.2 million, below the 180 million hryvnias prosecutors had requested. Yermak said he did not have the personal funds to pay and his defense said it would appeal. By May 18, court officials said money had begun arriving toward bail, and Yermak was later released after bail was posted.

The fallout carries weight far beyond one disgraced insider. Yermak was widely seen as Ukraine’s second most powerful official, the man who managed access to Zelenskyy and led difficult talks with the United States. With Kyiv still pressing for European Union membership and Western aid, the case has become a measure of whether Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions can withstand war, political pressure, and the corrosive damage of elite corruption without losing public trust.