Odesa mayor detained on suspicion in several embezzlement cases

Gennadiy Trukhanov, the mayor of Ukraine’s
third-largest city Odesa, was detained on Feb. 14 in a Kyiv airport on
suspicion in several cases of embezzlement of state funds. A Poroshenko Bloc MP
offered to post bail the same day. Trukhanov’s alleged crimes stemmed from an
amicable agreement with two businessmen regarding the Odesa airport, an
acquisition of a local factory and local road repairs whose inflated prices
were charged to the local budget, reported the pravda.com.ua news site.

The investigation – conducted by the National
Anti-Corruption Bureau – intensified in October when armed officers removed
from his apartment sealed documents. Trukhanov had been absent from work in
recent months, taking various vacations and business trips overseas. Detectives
delivered their notification to his office on the day prior to his detention,
which he likely expected having arrived at the Kyiv airport from Warsaw. His
deputy, Pavlo Vugelman, was also detained after arriving from Israel.

Trukhanov’s detention was ordered by the Specialized
Anti-Corruption Prosecution, which the Ukrainian government established in 2015
at Western demands to prosecute corrupt politicians. President Poroshenko is
currently resisting Western demands to create the High Anti-Corruption Court,
where corruption cases – particularly those pursued by the Anti-Corruption
Prosecution – would be tried. Ukraine’s judiciary has failed to convict any key
officials or businessmen of corruption throughout the nation’s 26 years of
independence.

Zenon Zawada: Trukhanov
is not a popular politician and his detention won’t draw any protest from the
public. His potential prosecution involves the highest-profile figure targeted
by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution, led by Nazar Kholodnytskiy, and
National Anti-Corruption Bureau, led by Artem Sytnyk, since their creation. It
also occurs at a time when Sytnyk and Kholodnytskiy are locking horns with the
Poroshenko administration, which is trying to restrict their authority and
intimidate them. Poroshenko won’t be so much disturbed by the prospect of
Trukhanov being removed as the fact that anti-corruption officials are flexing
their muscles.

It’s a positive sign that Sytnyk and Kolodnytskiy
haven’t been intimidated and are pursuing their responsibilities without having
been intimidated. What this means, however, is that they will continue to
target high-ranking officials in their prosecution efforts, eventually reaching
the Cabinet and Presidential Administration. The longer Poroshenko resists the
Anti-Corruption Court’s creation in line with Western standards, the more his
relations with the West – and ability to borrow money – will deteriorate. As
will Ukraine’s prospects to strengthen amid Russian military aggression.