Venediktova requests to place on leave alleged criminal gang members

Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed on Aug. 14
a request to place on temporary leave Kyiv Administrative Court chief Pavlo
Vovk and his six associates who are the targets of an investigation into the
creation of a criminal organization and its attempts to seize power illegally,
the pravda.com.ua news site reported, citing its law enforcement sources.
Venediktova had ignored for about three weeks the request to place them of
leave, which was originally made by National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)
investigators. She submitted her request to the High Council of Justice.

At the same time, Venediktova didn’t sign a request to
allow for the arrest on bail the criminal suspects, which Vovk characterized on
his Facebook page on Aug. 14 as “very good news.” Being placed on leave won’t
affect the investigation, he said. “More than anyone, we are interested in the
NABU gaining the opportunity to prove all these absurd accusations. So that it
doesn’t tell the mass media that someone is interfering with it or that someone
is ‘covering’ for us,” Vovk wrote.

A senior official of the Prosecutor General’s Office
pressured other prosecutors to disrupt the NABU investigations into Vovk and
his alleged criminal gang of judges, the censor.net news site reported on Aug.
6, citing an audio recording it obtained. During a meeting in a Kyiv
restaurant, Oleksandr Panov, the head of an oversight department in the office,
exceeded his authority by interfering in the investigation and threatened
prosecutors with negative consequences.

“I will arrive tomorrow at eight o’clock. I will
figure out all these moments and we will reach a decision afterwards. We will
report to the prosecutor general and do something afterwards,” Panov allegedly
said, referring to a meeting organized by NABU investigators. He told the
prosecutors not to attend, which they objected to, prompting him to respond,
“You can go, but tomorrow we will reach a decision on you.” The recording’s
legitimacy was confirmed by the pravda.com.ua news site, citing two anonymous
sources in law enforcement.

Zenon Zawada: We believe
someone in the President’s Office had the basic sense to inform Venediktova
that she needed to place Vovk and his six associates on leave as a minimum law
enforcement measure in this scandal, at least for the sake of appearances.
There is enough evidence at this point to believe credibly that Vovk’s alleged
behind-the-scenes influence over Ukrainian politics extends into the prosecutor
general’s office, possibly through officials loyal either to Ihor Kolomoisky or
Andriy Portnov, both of whom are widely believed to have influence over Venediktova
(These two political players have also gained favorable rulings from Vovk’s
court.)

The criminal case against the Vovk gang is among
NABU’s most significant accomplishments because it targets a high-ranking
official whose alleged corruption extends into many of the most influential
state bodies, particularly law enforcement. This criminal case is among the
most important battlegrounds between Ukraine’s pro-Western, pro-reform forces,
and those fighting to maintain the corrupt status quo. We expect maximum
efforts by the establishment to delay it as long as possible, in the hopes that
it will be swept under the rug eventually. Removing Artem Sytnyk as NABU head
is a key goal in this strategy.