The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) has upheld the detention order for Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, following a review of his appeal on May 21.
Yermak’s legal team contested the initial ruling that mandated his detention with a bail option set at 140 million hryvnias. However, the court decided to maintain the original terms, rejecting appeals from both the prosecution and the defense.
Prosecutors allege that Yermak may have been involved with an organized group responsible for the laundering of approximately 460 million hryvnias. The investigation, led by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), focuses on potential money laundering activities linked to the construction of an upscale residential complex in Kozyn, a village in the Kyiv region.
In 2020, then-Minister for Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Chernyshov initiated the project, which included a spa area. According to investigators, he enlisted influential individuals, including Yermak and a prominent businessman, as co-investors and future neighbors.
The construction was reportedly managed through a housing construction cooperative controlled by a former Deputy Prime Minister. Funding for the project was derived from multiple sources, including funds from companies suspected of being fictitious and cash linked to entities involved in corrupt practices within the energy sector, such as Energoatom.
Investigators estimate that about 72% of the financing may have originated from such schemes, covering the period from 2021 to 2025.
Among those implicated in the case are Yermak, Chernyshov, businessman Timur Mindich—identified as a co-organizer of a previously exposed criminal organization during Operation Midas—and four other individuals. Their actions are classified under Article 209, Part 3 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, which pertains to the legalization (laundering) of assets acquired through criminal means in particularly large amounts.
Authorities are also examining claims regarding the use of code names in the participants’ documentation and other circumstances that may indicate attempts to obscure the roles of those involved. Yermak has denied all allegations, asserting that they are unfounded.
The Appeals Chamber of VAKS has confirmed the detention order for Andriy Yermak, amid allegations of his involvement in a large-scale money laundering scheme linked to a luxury housing project. The investigation continues to scrutinize multiple individuals associated with the case.