Top anticorruption prosecutor Kholodnytsky retires

The Head of Specialized Anticorruption Prosecution, Nazar
Kholodnytsky, has written a dismissal request and the Prosecutor General has
accepted it, according to a social media post by Kholodnytsky on Aug. 21. He
was appointed as top anti-corruption prosecutor in late 2015 as result of
western-sponsored reform of the anti-corruption infrastructure in Ukraine,
based on which the Ukrainian government created the National Anticorruption
Bureau (investigating corruption cases, created in April 2015), the Specialized
Anticorruption Prosecution Office (presenting corruption cases in courts,
created in December 2015) and High Anticorruption Court (to adopt verdicts on
corruption cases, created in June 2018).

Alexander Paraschiy: After the July dismissals of heads of
Ukraine’s central bank and antimonopoly committees Kholodnytsky, along with the
head of the National Anticorruption Bureau Artem Sytnyk, were the only top
officials to have kept their positions since the presidency of Petro
Poroshenko. Therefore, Kholodnytsky’s dismissal marks the near completion of
the shift of power in Ukraine under president Zelensky. Recall, Sytnyk’s future
is also under risk as the parliament is continuously trying to adopt legislation allowing him to be dismissed,
with Western pressure on Ukraine being the only impediment to realizing such an
attempt.

Top anticorruption prosecutor is a vital part of
Ukraine’s newly created anticorruption infrastructure, so a likely replacement
of Kholodnytsky with a person loyal to president Zelensky or his entourage
could significantly weaken the independence of this infrastrucure from
political influence. If so, this may even spoil Ukraine’s relationships with
western partners, including IFIs.