Court rules to remove Vovk gang cases from independent NABU

A Kyiv district court ruled on Aug. 4 to require the
Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine to remove from the jurisdiction of the National
Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) the criminal cases involving the six suspects in
the alleged criminal gang of Judge Pavlo Vovk, the bureau’s press service
reported on Aug. 5. The complaint to the Pechersk District Court, which
required the cases be transferred to an undetermined law enforcement body, was
filed by Yevgeny Ablov, the deputy chief judge (and Vovk’s assistant) at the
Kyiv Administrative Court.

NABU will submit a complaint against the ruling to the
Higher Justice Council, while the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s
Office will file a complaint with the High Anti-Corruption Court, the bureau
said. All four of these institutions were created as independent bodies as part
of IMF loan requirements.

“Attempting such actions, the (Pechersk district)
court has exceeded its bounds of authority,” NABU statement said, asserting
that it’s forbidden to transfer investigations to other bodies. “The servants
of the court are practically defending the interests of individuals, who are
suspects in serious crimes. At the same time, these individuals have all the
ability to prove their innocence in a legal manner. Yet for some reason they
are avoiding this path.”

Zenon Zawada: This
development hints at Judge Pavlo Vovk exercising his alleged shadowy influence
over the courts – which he himself boasted of in the incriminating audio
recordings – to sabotage criminal cases against him by those institutions he
doesn’t control. He is wise enough to understand that such a brazenly illegal
ruling won’t be upheld by the independent courts on appeal. So he is playing a
game of delaying legal action for as long as possible, perhaps for years, until
he is forced to leave his post or decides it’s necessary to leave (and possibly
abroad). It’s a common gambit among corrupt officials.

What’s even more sensational is the brazen manner in
which Vovk is behaving. Both he and the President’s Office, which is directed
by the veteran lawyer Andriy Yermak, seem to be confident that his entire
scandal will blow over, without so much as a protest from the Ukrainian public
or repercussions from Ukraine’s Western partners. And this is merely the latest
in a series of political maneuvers that have disappointed Ukraine’s
Western partners.

This is also the latest evidence of a leadership
vacuum in Ukraine in which brazen crime and corruption is thriving, especially
in the courts and law enforcement institutions. The discontent of both
Ukraine’s pro-Western electorate – particularly interested in rule of law and
fighting corruption – and Russian-oriented electorate – interested in ending
the war in Donbas and overall stability – will be apparent in the results of
the October local elections. It’s already apparent The People’s Servant party
will have disappointing results.