Reformer of the week – Sergii Gorbatuk
Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka on Oct. 23 fired Sergii Gorbatuk, the top investigator in charge of cases into the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution.
The reason given was that Gorbatuk and dozens of other investigators said they would not undergo vetting under Riaboshapka’s procedure. Gorbatuk said that he objects the vetting because its procedure violates the law. At the same time, he said he had applied to join the new prosecution service and agreed to be vetted but only under a procedure that does not contradict the law.
Riaboshapka dismissed the accusations on Oct. 21, saying that all employees must be subject to the same procedure, and there must be no exceptions.
Gorbatuk’s dismissal is concerning for several reasons.
First, Gorbatuk has brought charges against powerful officials and ex-officials regardless of their political weight and wealth. Gorbatuk’s unit said in August that 290 suspects, including 34 former top officials, had been charged in cases into crimes against EuroMaidan protesters. The cases against 162 suspects have been sent to trial, and 19 of them have been convicted, the department said.
Second, he has earned the reputation of an honest and outspoken prosecutor and has always publicly exposed the interference of politicians and corrupt vested interests with EuroMaidan cases.
Third, he has earned the trust of the lawyers and families of slain EuroMaidan protesters, who have consistently praised his work and supported him.
Moreover, Gorbatuk has not been tainted by any corruption scandals or controversies. The dismissal of Gorbatuk and some of his subordinates sends a wrong signal to society and undermines the credibility of prosecution reform: honest and independent people are not tolerated in government.
Anti-reformer of the week – Kostyantyn Kulyk
Kostyantyn Kulyk, a controversial top prosecutor, did not show up for vetting at the Prosecutor General’s Office on Oct. 24, Oleksandr Lemenov, a member of a vetting commission, said on Facebook.
If he does not provide justifications for not showing up, he will be fired, Lemenov said.
Kulyk became a controversial figure in 2016 after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) charged him with illicit enrichment of Hr 2 million ($80,000). The case was closed in March 2019 after the Constitutional Court ruled the illicit enrichment law unconstitutional.
Kulyk denies the accusations and believes the case to be a political vendetta by the NABU.
Before early 2019, Kulyk was seen as a staunch loyalist of former President Petro Poroshenko. In 2017 to 2018, he pursued a criminal case against ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a major political enemy of Poroshenko.
But as Poroshenko’s prospects for re-election grew increasingly dim in the run-up to the March 31 presidential election, Kulyk made a U-turn and charged several of Poroshenko’s allies with money laundering and embezzlement, triggering a political scandal.
Kulyk has also played a key role in former Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko’s efforts to curry favor with U.S. President Donald Trump by investigating ex-Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s potential Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential election.
Kulyk told the Kyiv Post that the Prosecutor General’s Office had been investigating Joe Biden’s alleged links to Ukrainian oil and gas firm Burisma. Joe Biden’s son Hunter is a former member of Burisma’s board of directors, which has led to accusations by Trump’s supporters that Joe Biden helped Burisma. Both Biden and his son have denied accusations of wrongdoing.
