Court testimony suggests former chief of staff Andrey Yermak sought advice from a feng shui practitioner when making ministerial appointments

Former Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andrey Yermak, who was charged this week in a money laundering investigation, consulted a mystic while considering candidates for senior government posts, according to evidence presented by prosecutors.

Yermak – a close associate of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky – stepped down last year amid mounting scrutiny over his alleged ties to businessman Timur Mindich, who fled to Israel shortly before being accused of masterminding a large-scale embezzlement scheme at a state-owned energy company.

During a court hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors revealed details of Yermak’s reported interest in occult practices, claiming that it may have influenced staffing decisions at the highest levels of government.

According to investigators, one of his contacts appeared in messaging records under the name “Veronika Fengshui Office.”…