Anti-corruption agency head on case of Zelenskyy's former aide Yermak: Charges must be based on strong evidence

Commenting on the possibility of a notice of suspicion being served on Andrii Yermak, former head of the President's Office, Oleksandr Klymenko, Head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), has said SAPO does not make such procedural decisions public in advance because this would violate the presumption of innocence.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda correspondent, citing Klymenko

Details: Responding to journalists' questions about the possibility of a notice of suspicion being served on Yermak, Klymenko said the prosecution's position must be as well substantiated as possible and supported by the maximum amount of evidence.

Quote: "Ninety-five per cent of the searches we conduct do not end with notices of suspicion. In this category of cases, the position must be as well substantiated as possible and supported by as much evidence as possible. We must not enter proceedings with a weak position – we must begin them exclusively with a strong one."

Details: Klymenko noted that the agency's approach is based on actual evidence and legal grounds rather than public expectations.

He added that SAPO must be guided exclusively by the law and preserve its independence.

In response to a follow-up question from the Ukrainska Pravda correspondent, Klymenko said that SAPO cannot make such procedural decisions public in advance because doing so would violate the presumption of innocence.

"We cannot violate the law and then lose cases because we violated the law," Klymenko concluded.

Background: Ukrainska Pravda learned that businessman Tymur Mindich, suspected of corruption in the energy sector, and Yermak had been summoned to a hearing at the High Anti-Corruption Court regarding the seizure of assets following a search in Kyiv.

Read more: The president's men: how Zelenskyy's friends plundered Ukraine during the war

Previously:

• On 28 November 2025, Ukrainska Pravda reported that detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and prosecutors from SAPO had conducted searches at Yermak's residence in the government quarter. Yermak confirmed the searches and said he was willing to cooperate with the investigation.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later announced Yermak's resignation. On 2 January, Zelenskyy appointed Defence Intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov as head of the Office.
• Yermak later declared that he would go to the front line after resigning amid a corruption scandal and the investigative actions by NABU at his residence.
• According to ZN.UA, Yermak visited the office of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service on 5 December 2025, although Ukrainska Pravda sources did not confirm this report.

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