The “stinking herring” effect: how the authorities are diverting attention from the Yermak case

There are doubts about the validity of the charges brought against the former head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak. Law enforcement agencies have not provided convincing evidence of key aspects of the crime, so the situation looks ambiguous due to the lack of clear legal logic in the investigation’s arguments.

This opinion was expressed on the air of “Pryamoy” by blogger and entrepreneur Karl Volokh

“The case is weak. Why? Money laundering involves at least three circumstances, none of which were raised in court. That is, firstly, it must be proven that these funds are illegal… Second – there is no fact that he transferred this money to someone… Thirdly – he did not become the owner of what he allegedly bought with it,” explains the studio guest.

At the same time, he drew a parallel with the Al Capone case, reminding that only those facts that have real support can be proven in court. The entrepreneur believes that Yermak could have headed a corruption pyramid, but calls on the NABU and the SAPO to provide more specific evidence so that the defendant cannot escape responsibility due to the poor training of prosecutors.

However, at the current stage, the court was only considering a preventive measure. Volokh called the practice of restricting freedom without a detailed examination of the merits of the case a disturbing trend that requires greater attention to the presumption of innocence.

In addition, the businessman announced attempts to cover up the high-profile arrest of Andriy Yermak with other criminal proceedings in the media. He sees a clear connection between the time of the emergence of new suspicions against well-known figures and the court hearing of the former top official. According to the blogger, such a strategy is part of the crisis communications of the ruling team.

“As soon as something unpleasant happens to them, they need to distract attention, and they throw something like this at us… such a stinking settler. Just so he stinks. And everyone starts turning their heads this way and that,” Voloh noted.

As examples of such manipulations, he cited the sudden verdict in the case of Vitaliy Shabunin and the suspicion of Volodymyr Omelyan by the State Bureau of Investigation . Volokh called Omelyan’s accusations of evasion of service cynical, since he was discharged due to a front-line injury.

Despite these steps, the guest is convinced that the figure of Andriy Yermak is too important for society to stop taking interest in his case. He also added that the suspect was preparing for his arrest in advance, as evidenced by the rapid start of collecting funds for bail through a network of trusted individuals.

As a reminder, NABU and SAPO have exposed an organized group suspected of legalizing 460 million hryvnias in an elite construction project near Kyiv. The suspicion was reported to one of the participants in the scheme, the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The name of the person involved is not officially disclosed. However, according to media reports, it is Andriy Yermak .

Later it became known that on May 12, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Courtdid not choose a preventive measure for the former head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak. Lawyer Igor Fomin asked to postpone the hearing, since the defense did not have time to familiarize themselves with the case materials. On May 14, the court nevertheless chose a preventive measure for Yermak – detention with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of UAH 140 million .

Meanwhile, former head of Bankova Andriy Yermak, who is suspected of involvement in the legalization of 460 million hryvnias during the construction of an elite cottage town, remains in pretrial detention . Several people have already paid part of the bail for the former head of the OP, but this amount is not yet enough for Yermak to be released.

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