The High Anti-Corruption Court has begun proceedings to determine a preventive measure for Yermak

On May 12, the High Anti-Corruption Court began hearing a motion to impose a preventive measure on the former head of the Office of the President, who is suspected of laundering illicit proceeds. Investigators believe the former official was involved in money laundering during the construction of luxury residences in the “Dynasty” cottage community in the village of Kozin near Kyiv. 

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office is asking the court to order the suspect’s detention with an alternative bail of 180,000,000 UAH. According to the NABU and SAPO, the suspect, together with businessman Timur Mindich and former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, organized a scheme to launder 460 million UAH. Before the hearing began, the former head of the Presidential Office told reporters that he felt composed but refused to discuss the details of the charges.

The criminal proceedings concern the construction of real estate on plots with a total area of approximately 8 hectares, which was financed using corrupt assets. Earlier, law enforcement officials conducted investigative actions right in the center of the capital, after which they officially announced the charges against the group’s key members. The court must assess the level of risk and determine preventive measures that will ensure the suspect’s participation in the ongoing investigation.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office stated that it will ask the court to impose a preventive measure on former Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak in the form of detention, with the alternative of posting bail in the amount of 180 million hryvnias.

Former Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak attributes the charges brought against him to “public pressure on law enforcement agencies” to adopt specific procedural decisions regarding him.