KYIV — A Ukrainian court ordered Andriy Yermak jailed as part of a luxury real estate scandal, setting bail at over $3 million for the man who was once President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s most influential adviser.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff from 2020-25, would be able to meet the bail — around 140 million hyvynas ($3.2 million) — ordered in the May 14 ruling by the Kyiv court.
“I told you, I don’t have that kind of money,” Yermak told the court, saying his lawyers would appeal the ruling.
A longtime partner of Zelenskyy dating back to his days as an actor and comedian, Yermak resigned under pressure last November as anti-corruption investigators zeroed in on what they said was funding siphoned from air-defense systems that he — and his family members — used to purchase luxury real estate.
Though Zelenskyy himself has not been implicated in the scheme, according to investigators, the scandal has tarnished his image and added to longstanding suspicions about entrenched corruption in Ukraine — something Zelenskyy has tried to root out.
Among the more embarrassing details that have emerged in court proceedings was the allegations that Yermak had consulted an astrologer before making key personnel decisions.
Before the revelations emerged last year, Yermak had been one of the most powerful officials in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s political image has suffered more broadly as Ukrainians tire of the ongoing war with Russia, now in its fifth year.
He has resisted calling new elections, which are prohibited under martial law imposed days after the February 2022 all-out invasion, but political observers have pointed to several potential candidates who might be ready to challenge Zelenskyy in a vote.
