Zelensky's ex-chief of staff in court as Ukraine corruption probe escalates

Zelensky's ex-chief of staff in court as Ukraine corruption probe escalates48 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePaul KirbyEurope digital editorReutersAndriy Yermak said he had only one flat and one car, and his lawyer said the allegations were "baseless"President Volodymyr Zelensky's former right-hand man Andriy Yermak appeared in a Kyiv court on Tuesday, after he was named by Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies as a suspect in a money-laundering scheme.Yermak's lawyer had earlier denounced as "baseless" allegations that the former head of the presidential office had been caught up in a corruption scandal surrounding a $10.5m (£7.5m) luxury construction project outside Kyiv.Hours before the court hearing Yermak told reporters "I do not have any house, I only have one flat and one car", adding later that he would comment afterwards.For years he was a close friend of Zelensky, and led Ukraine's talks with the US until an anti-corruption raid on his flat last November prompted his resignation.Ukraine's Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo) said it was asking the Kyiv court to either place him in preventive detention or give him bail of about $4m (£3m).The head of the National anti-corruption bureau (Nabu) stressed that Zelensky himself was not part of the pre-trial investigation.Yermak had been the president's closest adviser throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, until he became caught up in a broader inquiry by Sapo and Nabu into an alleged $100m (£74m) embezzlement scheme in Ukraine's nuclear energy sector.He was not charged or formally named as a suspect at the time, however the swirling allegations have cast a shadow over Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. Last year, Zelensky had to scrap a law that weakened the independence of the two anti-corruption agencies, following widespread protests and criticism from the EU.As part of Operation Midas, ex-Deputy...