Suspicion is unfounded, detention is not justified - Yermak's lawyer
The notification of suspicion is unfounded, and the prosecution has failed to justify its position on the need to select detention as the severest preventive measure for the former head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, emphasizes his lawyer Ihor Fomin.
"Detention is an exceptional preventive measure that is applied only if the prosecutor proves that none of the milder preventive measures can prevent the risks," Fomin said, presenting the defense’s position regarding the motion to select a preventive measure for Yermak at a hearing of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) on Wednesday.
He stressed that the prosecution did not justify its position regarding the impossibility of applying a milder preventive measure. "The notification of suspicion is unfounded," the lawyer noted.
Fomin also pointed out that Yermak did not have ownership rights to any real estate objects in this complex. "The owner of the land plot is a legal entity," the lawyer added.
As previously reported, on the evening of May 11, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office notified Yermak of suspicion as a member of an organized group involved in the legalization of UAH 460 million through luxury construction near Kyiv. Yermak himself has denied owning any luxury real estate.
The first HACC hearing to select a preventive measure for Yermak, who is suspected of money laundering, took place on May 12. On that day, the hearing was adjourned until May 13 at the request of the defense to allow time to review the case materials.
On Wednesday, the hearing continued with the first part held in closed session, which was then interrupted after an air raid alert was announced in Kyiv.
SAPO is asking the court to select a preventive measure for Yermak in the form of detention with an alternative bail of UAH 180 million.
