Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court has extended the procedural obligations imposed on Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Presidential Office, but released him from wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet on medical grounds, the court's press service said.
An investigating judge at the court partially granted a motion from a prosecutor with the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, extending Yermak's procedural obligations for a further 60 days.
Under the extended conditions, Yermak must appear whenever summoned by a detective, prosecutor or the court, notify authorities of any change of residence or workplace, and not leave the populated areas previously designated by the court. He is also required to hand over his passports and any other documents allowing travel abroad, and to avoid contact with other suspects and witnesses named in the notice of suspicion against him.
The court said an independent medical specialist had advised that continuing to wear the electronic monitoring device could pose a threat to Yermak's life and health. That assessment was one of the grounds the court cited for refusing to extend the bracelet requirement.
Background to the Yermak case
According to Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office uncovered an organised group allegedly involved in laundering 460 million hryvnias through elite construction near Kyiv. In May, one of the group's alleged participants was notified of suspicion: Yermak, who had headed the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau said the case is being investigated under Part 3, Article 209 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, which covers the legalisation, or laundering, of property obtained through crime.
On 14 May, a court ordered Yermak held in custody, with the option of release on bail set at 140 million hryvnias. On 18 May, it emerged that Yermak had left pretrial detention after the full bail amount had been paid. The court said it did not have information on who had contributed the money or how much each donor gave.
The court noted that people could add funds toward the bail over the weekend, but that it only verifies the availability of the money on working days. As a result, despite active fundraising for his bail, Yermak spent 16 and 17 May in pretrial detention before his release.
