Former US ambassador lists issues clogging US-Ukraine relations

The election of Joe Biden as U.S. president “raised
the welcome prospect of a return to normalcy in the U.S.-Ukraine relationship,”
John Herbst, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, wrote in a March 23 alert
published by Atlantic Council. He listed U.S. and Ukraine moves towards the
fight against corruption and Russian influence in Ukraine since Biden’s
inauguration, including sanctioning MPs Oleksandr Dubinsky and Victor
Medvedchuk, as well as the activated investigation against the former top
managers of Privatbank, which was bailed out by the government in 2016.

At the same time, Herbst listed two “counter-steps” by
Ukrainian authorities in the way of improved relationships with Washington. The
first is a case that had been opened against Kateryna Rozhkova, deputy governor
of Ukraine’s central bank, “who played an important and laudatory role in the
nationalization of Privatbank.” Last week, local newspaper Kyiv Post wrote an
article that Rozhkova faces treason and embezzlement charges for hiring Kroll,
the agency that did the forensic audit of Privatbank. The second issue is the
court case where the Surkis brothers demand compensation of USD 350 mln from
the Ukrainian government that they lost in Privatbank after it was declared
insolvent. “Issues like the Rozhkova prosecution and the disposition of
Privatbank assets can slow down Zelensky’s charm offensive,” Herbst commented.

Alexander Paraschiy: Ironically,
the issues listed by Herbst are a legacy from the times when Poroshenko was
president, and Herbst should know it well. For instance, the Surkis family already received compensation
for their lost deposits in Privatbank in 2018, and it seems like the political
will of the new Ukrainian administration was a key factor that impeded the
compensation of another USD 350 mln. Rozhkova was brave enough to fight against
the former shareholders of Privatbank, but at her position in the top
management of Platinum bank in 2014-2015, she did exactly the same thing as
top-managers of Privatbank (almost all the corporate loans of the banks were
provided to related parties – an action that, according to Prosecutor General
Iryna Venediktova, is a basis for prosecuting Privatbank former managers).
Moreover, against Rozhkova, not only treason cases have been opened, but also
cases investigating her possible corruption, led by the National Anticorruption
Bureau – the body which is widely considered as independent from the Zelensky
administration.

All in all, we disagree with Herbst’ position that
these two cases could impede the U.S. – Ukraine relationships.