HACC Appeals Chamber starts hearing appeal against Yermak's preventive measure, defense insists suspicion groundless
The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC Appeals Chamber) on Thursday began hearing the appeal of the defense of former Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak against the choice of his preventive measure in the form of detention with an alternative bail of UAH 140 million.
As an Interfax-Ukraine agency correspondent reports, the judge announced the content of the appeal, and currently lawyer Ihor Fomin is speaking with the substantiation of the position regarding the appeal.
According to the lawyer, the position of the prosecution is based on assumptions, and a "presumption of guilt" is being applied to Yermak.
Earlier, before the court hearing, answering journalists’ questions about what he expected from the meeting, Yermak said: "A fair trial, we live in a state governed by law."
The hearing was planned to start at 13.00, however, according to court representatives, delays in the start time of the hearing are possible.
As reported, on May 18, Yermak was released from the pretrial detention center after UAH 140 million bail was posted for him.
On the evening of May 11, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) notified Yermak of suspicion as one of the participants in an organized group involved in the legalization of UAH 460 million in elite construction near Kyiv. Yermak himself denied having elite real estate.
SAPO asked the court to choose a preventive measure for Yermak in the form of detention with an alternative bail of UAH 180 million, but the High Anti-Corruption Court set it at UAH 140 million.