Yermak on bail of around €2.7 million: “I don’t have that kind of money,” but I have “many friends”

Former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has commented on the decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), which chose pre-trial detention as his restraint measure.

This was reported by an RBC-Ukraine correspondent from the courtroom.

Yermak said he is ready to go to the detention center and plans to take “the bare essentials” with him. He denied all charges brought against him.

“I have nothing to hide… Everything that happened around the proceedings was under pressure that had been going on for several months,” Yermak said.

The HACC set bail at 140 million hryvnias (around €2.7 million) as an alternative to pre-trial detention. According to Yermak, he does not have such a sum. At the same time, he noted that he has “many friends” and will try to raise the necessary amount — if the opportunity arises.

The former head of the Office of the President also said he intends to file an appeal. According to him, he will continue to fight and does not consider the case closed.

The restraint measure chosen by the court was softer than what the prosecution had demanded: prosecutors had insisted on bail of 180 million hryvnias. The investigative actions involving Yermak were carried out by NABU and SAP on May 11.

Yermak has been served a notice of suspicion in a money-laundering scheme related to the construction of the elite cottage development “Dynastiya” in Kozyn near Kyiv. The total amount of laundered funds, according to the investigation, exceeds 460 million hryvnias (around €8.9 million).