Investigators have discovered who posted tens of millions in bail for Yermak
On May 18, journalists from “Schemes” uncovered which companies had contributed the bulk of the bail for Andriy Yermak, the former head of the President’s Office. According to the investigation, seven firms transferred over 94 million hryvnias, even though 85 million was still needed to fully cover the 140 million hryvnia bail set by the court.
The largest amounts were contributed by private companies and law firms, some of which had previously been involved in government tenders or criminal proceedings. After the funds were deposited, Yermak was released from pretrial detention on May 18, where he had been held for several days.
The “Scientific Research Forensic Expertise Institution”—a private organization founded in Kyiv in 2017—contributed 30 million hryvnias toward the bail. Until September 2025, this company participated in tenders held by government agencies and municipal enterprises for the conduct of forensic examinations and research.
Journalists reached out to the head of the organization, Volodymyr Ivanov, for comment. He explained his contribution as follows: “I just felt like doing it… I see this as advertising for my firm.”
The law firm “A.DVA.KA.T” posted a 4 million hryvnia bond. The firm’s director is Yaroslav Kuts, who in 2019–2020 ran as an independent candidate for the Verkhovna Rada and the Irpin City Council, respectively, under the “European Solidarity” banner. In 2016, he was an expert on the criminal talk show “The Viewer as a Witness” on the “Ukraine” TV channel.
Another 32 million hryvnias were contributed by the company “Specialized Management Stroyelektromontazh.” This Dnipro-based company was founded in 2000, and its primary activity is “construction of residential and non-residential buildings.” In 2017, it was implicated in a criminal investigation by the National Police regarding the alleged laundering of proceeds from criminal activity and tax evasion.
Another 10.2 million hryvnias was contributed by the private enterprise “SV-GROUP,” which deals in automobile sales. “Schemes” attempted to contact the sole director and owner of the company, Valeria Prodan, but she did not respond to calls or messages.
“De Lege Lata”—a law firm in Kyiv owned by Vitaliy Marfin—contributed 14 million hryvnias. According to Roman Maselko, a member of the High Council of Justice, the man is a former employee of the Main Department for Counterintelligence Protection of the Economy at the SBU Office in Kyiv and the husband of Natalia Marfina, a judge of the Dniprovskyi District Court, who during the Revolution of Dignity upheld an appeal to revoke the driver’s license of one of the “Automaidan” activists. In 2011, Marfin himself was detained on suspicion of accepting a bribe of $180,000; he was later found guilty and sentenced to a fine of 25,000 hryvnias.
Another 4 million hryvnias were contributed by Arena Marin LLC—according to the registry, this is a logistics company from Odesa with a registered capital of 40,000 hryvnias. The owner is 76-year-old Oleksandr Rusnyak.
Previously reported:
Yermak expressed respect for state institutions in court
Bail proceedings began for Yermak
