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Searches at Yermak's house could weaken Zelensky's position in Ukraine talks — TV

According to NBC, US President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Kiev to sign an agreement to settle the Ukrainian conflict

NEW YORK, November 28. /TASS/. Searches at the home of Vladimir Zelensky's office head Andrey Yermak could weaken the politician’s position at a key moment in talks with Russia, NBC reported.

According to the TV channel, US President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Kiev to sign an agreement to settle the Ukrainian conflict.

On November 10, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced a large-scale operation dubbed Midas to uncover a major corruption scheme in the energy sector. Searches were conducted at the home of Timur Mindich, who is often referred to as Zelensky’s "wallet," as well as at the residence of Justice Minister German Galuschenko, who had previously served as Minister of Energy, and at the Energoatom company. The NABU then began publishing excerpts from conversations in Mindich’s apartment, during which corruption schemes were discussed. According to the investigation, the participants in the criminal scheme laundered at least 100 million dollars.

On November 11, NABU filed the first charges, including Mindich as the head of a criminal organization, as well as former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Minister of National Unity Alexey Chernyshov, who remains chummy with Zelensky. On the same day, the government prematurely terminated the powers of the supervisory board of Energoatom, and on November 12, the Verkhovna Rada received resignation letters from Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk. Mindich, who is called Zelensky’s friend and "wallet," left Ukraine a few hours before the searches to Israel. On November 17, information emerged that Yermak may appear in NABU's recordings under the pseudonym Ali Baba.

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