HACC Appeals Chamber considers defense appeal against preventive measure for Yermak. LIVE BROADCAST

The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has begun considering an appeal by the defense of former head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak against the preventive measure.

This was reported by Censor.NET.

Details

The prosecution is asking the court to overturn the ruling in the part concerning the amount of bail and issue a new one, setting bail at UAH 180 million.

At the same time, Yermak’s defense is asking the court to overturn the ruling and reject the motion.

Defense’s position

Lawyer Ihor Fomin said the notice of suspicion was unfounded and based "solely on assumptions."

The defense considers the prosecution’s conclusion "strange" that Chernyshov involved Yermak and Mindich in the construction of Dynasty because he could not organize the construction on his own.

The lawyer also said there were no facts showing that money laundering operations had been carried out on Yermak’s behalf.

Fomin also commented on the prosecution’s statements about pressure on the expert who conducted the examination in the proceedings.

According to him, the defense was not even aware of this.

Fomin said Yermak is currently not an official and therefore cannot influence or pressure witnesses or other figures in the proceedings.

He also considers the bail amount of UAH 140 million to be unfounded.

Yermak’s statement

He supported his lawyer’s statements.

"I consider the suspicion unfounded, as the prosecution has not provided evidence of my involvement in the case. We see volumes of case files, various surnames and conversations between different people, but all of this is based solely on assumptions.

The investigation has not obtained any evidence of my involvement in the financing, construction or legalization of any funds," the former head of the President’s Office said.

He also said he knew nothing about "some" residence.

Yermak also commented on the risks outlined by the prosecution.

"I have never hidden from the pre-trial investigation body. I have always assisted the investigation and personally take part in all procedural actions. I did not leave the country when, for six months, information was being spread, putting pressure on the justice system, about the possibility of serving me with a notice of suspicion," he said.

"For almost six years, I headed the President’s Office. I was in office when Russia’s full-scale aggression against our country began. I have now fulfilled all the obligations imposed on me by the court. I am wearing an electronic bracelet. I have surrendered all my foreign passports.

One of the largest bails has been posted for me, even more, because many people decided to help. More than UAH 150 million," Yermak added.

Earlier, during a HACC court hearing, it was reported that lawyer Oleksii Shevchuk, who defended Illia Kyva, wanted to stand surety for Yermak.

The investigating judge asked Yermak about this.

"I have heard this surname, but I do not know him personally. But I know that during the first hearing I heard that this person had filed such a motion," the former head of the President’s Office said.

At the same time, Shevchuk was not present either at the hearing on choosing the preventive measure or today, when the appeal is being considered.

SAPO prosecutor’s statement

According to prosecutor Hrebeniuk, there is a body of evidence showing that Andrii Yermak is "R2," whom the figures in the case are discussing.

Kvelenkova, who oversaw the construction, had a chat with Andrii Yermak on her phone. In particular, it included a design project for the R2 residence.

"I can state with 100% certainty that Yermak should at least have known about the criminal origin of the funds, since millions of US dollars were allocated for the construction of his residence, as his father said. They were allocated not from his lawful income, but from an office controlled by Mindich, where funds flowed in at least from the ‘Barrier’ corruption scheme at Energoatom. However, the pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and we are also establishing other sources of funds in that office," Hrebeniuk said.

According to the prosecution, there is a risk both of another criminal offense being committed and of the alleged offense continuing.

"Funds in the amount of US$1.916 million were allocated from Mindich’s office for Residence 2. Another US$3 million was allocated simultaneously for three residences, including Residence 2. The total amount of these funds, if divided among the three residences, amounted to more than UAH 120 million," the prosecutor clarified.

"Since the risk of losing bail must outweigh the benefits a person would receive if they realized the risks provided for by the Criminal Code of Ukraine, I believe that UAH 140 million is insufficient to prevent these risks," Hrebeniuk explained.

Bail of UAH 180 million could prevent such risks.

Suspicion against Yermak in the Dynasty case

As a reminder, on the evening of 11 May, NABU and SAPO served a notice of suspicion on former Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak. According to the investigation, more than UAH 460 million was legalised from 2021 to 2025 through a scheme involving the Dynasty cooperative.
NABU said the participants in the Dynasty project agreed to build four private residences on the land plots for personal use. Each house had an area of about 1,000 square metres, and each was worth about US$2 million. The houses were referred to as R1, R2, R3, and R4. They also agreed to build a shared estate, R0, with a spa area, a swimming pool, and a gym.
The main part of the construction was financed with funds obtained by criminal means. Persons controlled by Oleksii Chernyshov also created a front company for this purpose, which placed orders.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, the construction did not stop and even continued more actively. Chernyshov demanded that the builders work faster and in several shifts. Yermak oversaw the construction of his residence.
After media publications about Dynasty, the owners of the residences tried to remove the land and real estate from possible seizure. However, the High Anti-Corruption Court seized the land plots and five unfinished Dynasty properties. NABU and SAPO also inspected the cottage estate.
Commenting on the suspicion, the Office of the President said procedural actions were still ongoing, so it was too early to make any assessments.
Yermak’s lawyer, Ihor Fomin, also said the suspicion was unfounded.
Yermak refused to comment on the suspicion and said he had no houses, only an apartment and a car.
It is known that the High Anti-Corruption Court has seized the land plots and unfinished Dynasty properties.
Yermak has linked the notice of suspicion served on him by NABU to "public pressure on law enforcement agencies".
On May 14, a preventive measure was chosen for Yermak: he was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 140 million.
On May 18, Yermak was released from the pre-trial detention center.