Yermak taken into custody in court corridor: bail set at around €2.6 million

Former head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Andriy Yermak has been taken into custody.

According to Verkhovna Rada deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak, who published a message on his Telegram channel, the detention took place not in the courtroom but in the corridor of the building.

On May 14, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Yermak to be remanded in custody for 60 days. The court allowed for release on bail of around €2.6 million. The former official stated that he does not have that kind of money.

The arrest was prompted by charges brought against Yermak on May 12 by staff of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies. He is accused of laundering around €8.9 million through the construction of an elite cottage settlement in the Kyiv region.

NABU published recordings in which the alleged scheme is discussed, as well as correspondence in which Yermak discussed a house design project with a designer. The former official himself denies any wrongdoing.