U.S.-backed reformer Kasko appointed as first deputy prosecutor general

Vitaliy Kasko, who resigned as deputy prosecutor
general in 2016, was appointed as first deputy prosecutor general on Sept. 5 by
Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka. Kasko, who has earned U.S. support for
his anti-corruption efforts since his first appointment to the Prosecutor
General’s Office in May 2014, spent the next day joining Riaboshapka in meeting
with U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Chris Murphy.

As his main priority, Kasko said on Sept. 6 he will
concentrate on reforming the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine so that it
meets European standards, as reported by the Ukrinform, news agency. In his
words, Riaboshapka “absolutely supports the idea of a typical European
prosecutor general’s office, which will be liked by a society that knows the
prosecutor’s office is fulfilling its work in protecting honest citizens and
punishing the guilty.”

Kasko resigned in February 2016 after alleging he
was prevented from prosecuting crimes by his superior, former Prosecutor
General Viktor Shokin, who acted on behalf of MP Ihor Kononenko, a member of
former President Poroshenko’s entourage. These individuals also worked to prevent
Kasko’s appointment as specialized anti-corruption prosecutor, eventually
opening a criminal case against him for misappropriation of property that was
eventually closed.