Anti-Corruption Court begins hearing on pre-trial restriction for Zelenskyy's former top aide Yermak: decision expected on Wednesday

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has begun a hearing to select a pre-trial restriction for Andrii Yermak, former head of the President's Office, who has been named as a suspect in a case concerning the alleged laundering of UAH 460 million (around US$10.5 million) through a high-end construction project outside Kyiv.

Source: court livestream; Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne from the courtroom

Details: Upon arriving at the court, Yermak said he expected "a fair and honest trial". Asked whether he still has influence on decision-making at the President's Office since stepping down, Yermak replied that he "does not comment on media campaign leaks".

The court decided that no pre-trial restriction would be imposed on Yermak on Tuesday and that only part of the case materials submitted by prosecutors would be reviewed. However, a pre-trial restriction must be chosen within 72 hours of the notice of suspicion being announced.

Yermak's lawyer, Ihor Fomin, stated that the case file consists of 16 volumes of 250 pages each, and therefore the defence had not been able to fully review the materials. For this reason, they requested that the hearing be adjourned.

A prosecutor from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) also said that part of the evidence could not be disclosed in open court.

During the hearing, the prosecution stated, among other things, that from July 2020 until August 2022, Yermak's authorised representative in the Dynasty housing construction project had been his father, Borys Yermak. This is confirmed by messages. After August 2022, another person took over this role.

It also emerged during the hearing that the participants had referred to the construction project as "the Big Build".

Update: The court later announced that the hearing would be adjourned until 12:00 on 13 May.

Background:

• The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and SAPO conducted investigative actions in regard to Andrii Yermak on the evening of 11 May.
• Later, Yermak was served with a notice of suspicion in a case concerning the alleged laundering of UAH 460 million during the construction of the Dynastiia housing complex. According to investigators, some of the funds used for the construction may have originated from corruption schemes at Energoatom.
• The prosecution is seeking a pre-trial restriction measure for Yermak in the form of custody with the option of posting bail of UAH 180 million (US$4 million).

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