Astrologer, Remand Prison, and Contact Ban: What Court Decided in Yermak's Case

# VACS Chose Custody for Yermak with 140 Million Hryvnia Bail and Separately Banned Communication with "Veronika Fenshu Office" The Specialized Anti-Corruption Court (VACS) selected custody with bail set at 140 million hryvnia for Yermak. Additionally, the court imposed a separate ban on communication with "Veronika Fenshu Office." Yermak's lawyer insists that the correspondence is personal in nature, not official.

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Андрій Єрмак (Фото: Офіс президента)

In the phone of Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Presidential Office, investigators found a contact "Veronika Feng Shui Office" — and it was around this contact that one of the most unusual disputes in the High Anti-Corruption Court in recent years unfolded. SAP prosecutor Valentyna Hrebeniuk claimed that Yermak sent this person the birth dates of candidates for state positions and asked for astrological advice. The defense responded: the communication was private and had nothing to do with any appointments.

Who is "Veronika Feng Shui Office"

Journalists from "Schemes" (Radio Svoboda) established that behind the contact is Veronika Anikievych — a 51-year-old Kyivite who positions herself as an astrology consultant and runs the Telegram channel "Lunar Hours." In the phone books of various users, her contact was saved under the names "Veronika Consult. A.B." and "fortune teller Yermak." After Yermak's resignation, she publicly defended him and called NABU and SAP those who "sold out to the Russians."

A separate detail was the background of Anikievych's father: Fedir Anikievych lives in occupied Henichesk in Kherson region and holds Russian citizenship. In May 2025, he posed with St. George ribbons and Russian flags.

What exactly was discussed — the prosecution's version

According to investigation materials, the correspondence featured candidates for prime minister, minister of health, deputy head of the Presidential Office Oleh Tatarov, as well as the head of the State Property Management Agency Ihor Lysyy. The selection criterion, according to SAP, was the birth date of the candidate.

"We will comment on everything tomorrow."

Andriy Yermak — to journalists during a recess on May 13

Lawyer Ihor Fomin confirmed the fact of communication itself, but insisted: it occurred after Yermak left public service and had nothing to do with any appointments. "These are personal matters," the defense lawyer concluded in a comment to LIGA.net.

What the court decided — and why the detail about the ban matters

On May 14, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose detention with a bail of 140 million hrn for Yermak. Yermak ended up in pre-trial detention: the defense reported difficulties in raising funds. Lawyer Serhiy Svyryba — a former partner of the Asters law firm, connected to Yermak's circle through shared education — contributed part of the bail.

But procedurally significant was another moment: the court separately banned Yermak from communicating with Veronika Anikievych. For the court, this is a standard measure to protect the investigation from possible influence on witnesses or destruction of evidence. But the very appearance of such a ban in the ruling means: the court recognized the connection between the two individuals as procedurally significant — regardless of what content each side fills that communication with.

Case materials — 16 volumes of approximately 250 pages each. Lawyer Fomin admitted that the defense has not yet had time to fully review them. The main hearing on the merits has not yet begun.

The question that will determine the further course of the case: will the prosecution be able to prove that the correspondence with the astrologer took place precisely during the period when Yermak was in office — because if the defense proves otherwise, this episode will fall out of the evidentiary base completely, and the investigation will have to build the case exclusively on the financial materials of "Dynaste."

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