Iryna Venedyktova, acting head of the State Investigation Bureau, on March 7 said she is taking journalists and anti-corruption watchdogs to court for libel.
On Jan. 28, Ukrainska Pravda news outlet republished an article by the Anti-Corruption Action Centre. alleging that Venedyktova’s husband, Denys Kolesnyk, a mid-ranked police officer, has vast influence in his wife’s agency.
Ukrainska Pravda cited anonymous sources in reporting that Kolesnyk is present during the Investigation Bureau’s top-level meetings and that he chose Venedyktova’s aides, including Ruslan Birukov, appointed on Jan. 8. Birukov previously worked in the Interior Ministry and, since 2018, in the bureau tasked with filling the bureau’s open vacancies.
On March 7, Venedyktova wrote on her Facebook page that the allegations that her husband influences her decisions is false. She also published the first page of her lawsuit against Ukrainska Pravda, its founder Olena Prytula and the Anti-Corruption Action Centre. The amount claimed by Venedyktova is Hr 150,000 ($6,000).
“It’s enough for me to get justice,” wrote Venedyktova, asking followers to help her decide where to put her award if she wins. She added that journalists and anti-corruption activists simply don’t like her.
Venedyktova did not respond to requests for comment on March 8.
Vitaly Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, told the Kyiv Post that the document Venedyktova posted on her Facebook page is as poorly written as charges against former President Petro Poroshenko.
Watchdogs believe that multiple cases against Poroshenko are vague and poorly structured.
Venedyktova was appointed acting head on the investigation Bureau on Dec. 27. She replaced Roman Truba, who was fired after being caught on tape talking about the dismissal of several high-profile cases.
In the recordings, the alleged voices of Truba and Andriy Bohdan, Zelensky’s former chief of staff, are also heard discussing the timing of Poroshenko’s questioning in connection to several investigations against him.
Truba said these recordings are fake.
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The bureau has 18 open investigations against the former president. Most were launched at the request of controversial lawyer and politician Andriy Portnov, a former deputy chief of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration.
After Venedyktova’s appointment, the State Investigation Bureau brought two charges against Poroshenko. However, then Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka told the Kyiv Post that his office has not signed the charges. He added that the bureau brought weak charges against Poroshenko in the past.
Documents obtained by the Kyiv Post support Riaboshapka’s claim. The charges against Poroshenko contained missing information.
Riaboshapka was dismissed by parliament on March 5. Among other complaints, pro-Zelensky lawmakers criticized Riaboshapka for not greenlighting charges against Poroshenko.
Venedyktova is among the top candidates to take Riaboshapka’s place. However, her reputation may be damaged from being tied up in court hearings against journalists.
“Venedyktova is so inexperienced that she managed to share on Facebook the lawsuit’s first page with unconcealed personal information,” says Shabunin. “The fantastic nature of her claims we’ll gladly explain to her in court.”
Ukrainska Pravda wrote that as of March 7 they were not served with Venedyktova’s lawsuit.
