If bail is increased, we will look for money – Yermak

Former Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has said that if his bail is increased to UAH 180 million, this money will be sought.

"We will look for it. As I told you when the decision was announced... I do not have that kind of money. We will look for it, we will appeal," Yermak told reporters during a recess in the court session, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) Appeals Chamber on Thursday began considering the appeals of the prosecution and Yermak's defense against the choice of a preventive measure for him in the form of detention with an alternative of UAH 140 million bail. The attorney for the former Head of the President's Office of Ukraine, Ihor Fomin, said there was a lack of evidence with which the prosecution justifies the suspicion against Yermak.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) on the evening of May 11 notified Yermak of suspicion as a member of an organized group involved in the legalization of UAH 460 million on luxury construction near Kyiv. Yermak himself denied owning luxury real estate. SAPO asked the court to choose a preventive measure for Yermak in the form of detention with an alternative of UAH 180 million bail, but HACC set it at UAH 140 million.