Searches at the home of former “effective manager” and deputy head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma — who first left for Germany and later moved to Austria — have sparked yet another corruption scandal within Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner circle.
Although cases of embezzlement and bribery involving dismissed top officials were in most instances either “buried” or put on hold, new details of the investigation against Shurma — including a confiscated phone with recordings — may ultimately pose tangible political risks for Zelenskyy himself.
UA.News recounts the most notorious heads of the Presidential Office during Zelenskyy’s tenure, their corruption “achievements,” and the “forgotten” cases.
Andriy Bohdan, former Head of the Presidential Office (2019–2020)
Former head of the Presidential Office and close ally of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Andriy Bohdan, was referred to by the media as the “Ze-combinator” and the “curator” representing oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi. Before his appointment, he handled cases for the Privat Group and served as a personal assistant to the late MP Andriy Portnov.
The “mildest” accusations against Bohdan involved holding incompatible positions. While serving in high-ranking government roles, he continued to provide legal services and conduct business. This violated the law on civil service and anti-corruption legislation.
Bohdan also repeatedly appeared in journalistic investigations, including as a participant in court cases with signs of fraud amounting to hundreds of millions of hryvnias. For instance, in 2016, the Deposit Guarantee Fund uncovered a credit fraud scheme involving the offshore company “Idelberg Resources INC.,” which led to the opening of criminal proceedings. Investigators from Bihus.Info discovered that Andriy Bohdan was the company’s authorized representative by power of attorney.
After being dismissed from the Presidential Office, Bohdan gave several high-profile interviews in which he accused the authorities of incompetence, then disappeared from the public spotlight. Later, blogger Ihor Lachenkov wrote on his Telegram channel that the former head of the Presidential Office was trying to remain politically involved from abroad: “He fled the country after 2022, attempted to portray himself as a top volunteer, and now refuses to return, fearing he’ll face charges. But from abroad, he invests in pro-Russian fools who want to enter politics.”
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office (2019–2024)
In 2019, Kyrylo Tymoshenko joined Bankova alongside then-head of the Presidential Office Andriy Bohdan. He was responsible for the “Great Construction” program, coordinated regional administrations, and oversaw humanitarian aid projects in the regions.
In September 2022, a freelance employee of NABU alleged large-scale embezzlement and resale of humanitarian aid in supermarkets across Zaporizhzhia and the region. Losses amounted to 322 million hryvnias, and officials from the Presidential Office were named among those involved. Tymoshenko denied any involvement. However, less than a month later, he was exposed for using a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV that had been donated to Ukraine by an American company for evacuating civilians from combat zones.
In addition, companies linked to Tymoshenko, according to the Nashi Groshi project, received more than 100 million hryvnias in 2023 alone for the nationwide television marathon.
In June 2024, NABU detectives conducted searches at Tymoshenko’s residence as part of an investigation into alleged leaks of information from the bureau. He was suspected of passing details of cases against top officials to journalists.
Andriy Smyrnov, former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office (2019–2024)
In May 2024, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) served Andriy Smyrnov with a notice of suspicion for illicit enrichment. The case had been ongoing since March 2023, when SAP opened criminal proceedings following a complaint from the NGO Anti-Corruption Human Rights Council.
According to investigators, between 2020 and 2022, the high-ranking official, despite having no savings, acquired assets worth over 17 million hryvnias. Smyrnov was accused of laundering illicit income and receiving a particularly large bribe. In 2022, a construction business representative allegedly offered him $100,000 to influence a decision of the Antimonopoly Committee and secure victory in a tender for building a recreational area. NABU and SAP stated that Smyrnov illegally received the money and went on to build cottages totaling over 300 square meters in a recreational zone in Odesa region.
On May 5, 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Smyrnov’s arrest with the option of posting bail set at 18 million hryvnias. The very next day, on May 6, the required sum was paid and Smyrnov was released from custody.
Rostyslav Shurma, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office (2021–2024)
In the Presidential Office, Rostyslav Shurma was responsible for economic and energy policy. In political circles, his dismissal in 2024 was explained by concerns that the United States was already prepared to impose sanctions on him for unlawfully pressuring sectors of Ukraine’s economy.
This included integrating corrupt mechanisms into reforms. One example was the urban planning reform initiated by Shurma. In 2022, the Association of Ukrainian Cities opposed the reform, warning it contained a corrupt component favoring developers. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) also reported that the draft law contradicted the national anti-corruption strategy for 2021–2025. Nevertheless, the Servant of the People party adopted it. The public petitioned the president to veto the law. Zelenskyy initially paused, but by June 2023 said he could no longer veto it because the legal deadline had passed.
The most notorious case, however, involved an investigation by NABU and SAP following a Bihus.Info report that the state had been paying for electricity generated by Shurma’s brother’s solar power plants located in temporarily occupied territories. From July 2022 to July 2023, the companies received over 320 million hryvnias under the “green tariff” from the state-owned enterprise Guaranteed Buyer.
After leaving the Presidential Office, Shurma — the father of three minor children — moved with his family to the suburbs of Munich, Germany. However, anti-corruption bodies did not forget about him. NABU continued its criminal proceedings, and in July 2025, detectives from the bureau, together with German law enforcement, conducted searches at his residence and seized his phone.
Following the searches, and reportedly at NABU’s request, Shurma relocated from Germany to Austria — a country that does not extradite suspects in corruption cases.
Oleh Tatarov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office since August 2020
The media call Oleh Tatarov one of the main “toxic assets” in Zelenskyy’s team. After his appointment to Bankova in August 2020, he managed to build his own “power vertical” to control nearly all law enforcement agencies. His influence over security forces grew particularly after the dismissal of former SBU chief Ivan Bakanov and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.
One of the loudest episodes in his dossier was an accusation of facilitating large-scale bribery in the UkrBud corporation case. In December 2020, NABU investigators searched the Presidential Office and prepared a notice of suspicion for the deputy chief overseeing security matters. Investigators believed that during his time working at UkrBud, Tatarov may have been involved in bribery to obtain a fake expert report that helped the corporation’s leadership avoid legal problems. In 2021, however, the Prosecutor General reassigned the case to the SBU, which promptly closed it.
Andriy Yermak, Head of the Presidential Office since February 2020
Immediately after Andriy Yermak’s appointment as head of the Presidential Office in spring 2020, a scandal erupted over alleged “selling of state positions.” MP Geo Leros from Servant of the People published video recordings showing a man resembling Yermak’s brother, Denys, negotiating appointments to government posts. But that episode turned out to be minor compared to later cases directly or indirectly tied to the head of the Presidential Office.
In particular, Yermak is believed to control a “law enforcement vertical” overseen by his deputy Tatarov. In this context, the Nashi Groshi project highlighted the escape abroad of former Kyiv City Council deputy Denys Komarnytskyi, who was wanted on corruption charges but managed to leave Ukraine with the help of law enforcement. Investigators noted that Komarnytskyi resumed his “activities” after Yermak’s influence within Zelenskyy’s team had strengthened.
Most importantly, Yermak — whom the media dub the “green cardinal” — has been accused by civic activists of attempting to establish total control over all anti-corruption institutions.
