Yermak arrives at HACC, hearing begins after air raid alert ends
Former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and lawyer Andriy Yermak arrived for a hearing at the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), where continuation of the hearing on the selection of a preventive measure was scheduled for Wednesday.
As reported by an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, the hearing had been scheduled to begin at 12:00, with the first part to be held behind closed doors, but at 11:52 an air raid alert was announced, and possible changes to the plans – continuation or suspension of the hearing – were discussed.
At 12:08 the all-clear was announced, after which a decision was made to continue the hearing in closed session.
As reported, on the evening of May 11, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office served Yermak with a notice of suspicion as one of the participants in an organized group allegedly involved in laundering UAH 460 million in an elite construction project near Kyiv. Yermak himself denied owning elite real estate.
On May 12, the first HACC hearing on selecting a preventive measure for Yermak, who is suspected of money laundering, took place. On the same day, a recess in the hearing until May 13 was announced at the request of Yermak’s defense team to allow time to review the case materials.
It is expected that during Wednesday’s hearing the defense and the suspect himself will speak. The prosecution will provide the court with additional materials, after which a decision will be announced regarding the motion for a preventive measure. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) intends to ask the court to impose detention with the alternative of UAH 180 million bail.
