Anti-corruption court extends Yermak's procedural obligations for 60 days, lifts electronic bracelet on medical grounds
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (ВАКС) extended for 60 days the procedural obligations imposed on Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Office of the President, who is suspected of laundering property obtained through criminal means. The court declined to extend the requirement that Yermak wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, citing an independent medical specialist's finding that continued use could threaten his life and health.
Key points
- ВАКС extended Yermak's procedural obligations for 60 days.
- The court refused to extend the electronic monitoring bracelet obligation on medical grounds.
- An independent medical specialist concluded further bracelet use could threaten Yermak's life and health.
- The motion was filed by a Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) prosecutor; the investigating judge partially granted it.
- Preserved obligations include appearing on request, reporting changes of residence and work, surrendering travel and diplomatic passports, not leaving established localities, and not communicating with specified co-suspects and witnesses.
- Yermak was notified of suspicion on 11 May 2026 of laundering over 460 million UAH through the 'Dynasty' elite cottage settlement in Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast.
- On 14 May 2026 ВАКС ordered him held in custody with bail set at 140 million UAH; the full sum was posted on 18 May and he was released.
Why it matters
The case targets a former senior presidential aide, signalling that Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions are pursuing high-level officials. Lifting the electronic bracelet, justified on health grounds, loosens the most visible pretrial restriction on a suspect in a major money-laundering case that alleges 460 million UAH was laundered through elite real-estate construction near Kyiv.
What happened
On 15 September 2026, an investigating judge at the High Anti-Corruption Court (ВАКС) partially granted a motion from a Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) prosecutor and extended for 60 days the procedural obligations imposed on former head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak. The court declined to extend the obligation to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet after an independent medical specialist concluded that continued use could threaten Yermak's life and health. The remaining obligations were preserved: Yermak must appear on every request of the detective, prosecutor, or court; notify investigators of any change in residence or work; refrain from leaving the previously established localities; surrender his travel and diplomatic passports; and avoid communication with specified co-suspects and witnesses regarding the circumstances set out in the suspicion notice. The petition that was partially granted had been submitted by an SAP prosecutor.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All sources in the set are Ukrainian-language media. They frame the 15 September ruling as a routine pretrial decision while consistently emphasising the medical justification for lifting the bracelet. Coverage supplies extensive background on the case timeline — the May 2026 suspicion, the May 2026 custody and 140 million UAH bail proceedings, the August permission to travel within several oblasts, the 'Dynasty' cottage settlement in Kozyn, and the six other suspects, including former vice-prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and businessman Tymur Mindych — placing the ruling in the context of an ongoing high-profile anti-corruption investigation.
Background
Yermak, the former head of the Office of the President, was notified of suspicion on 11 May 2026 of laundering property obtained through criminal means. On 14 May 2026 ВАКС ordered him held in custody with bail set at 140 million UAH; the full amount was posted on 18 May and he was released. The investigation alleges that during 2021–2025 an organised group in which Yermak is a suspect laundered over 460 million UAH through construction of the elite 'Dynasty' cottage settlement in Kozyn, Kyiv Oblast. Six other individuals received notices of suspicion on 12 May 2026, including former vice-prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and businessman Tymur Mindych. In August, the investigating judge allowed Yermak to travel without permission to several eastern and southern oblasts at the military's request. ВАКС's own press statement did not name Yermak directly; outlets identified him from case materials. An electronic monitoring bracelet is used to track a suspect's location and prevent flight from investigation and court.