On February 9, the Cabinet of Ministers preliminarily nominated candidates for the commission to elect the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Economy nominated three candidates for discussion and voting. International partners delegate three more.
According to the Law “On the NABU,” members of the selection commission must have an impeccable business reputation, high professional and moral qualities, public authority, as well as experience in law enforcement or anti-corruption for at least five years.
TI Ukraine has analyzed the candidates and found that those delegated by the ministries have a dubious reputation and a lack of experience in working on the commission.
Kyrylo Lehkykh, Head of the Department of Criminal Procedure at the Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine.
In 2018, Lehkykh applied for the position of a judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court. Civil society organizations recognized him as dishonest.
There were questions about his declarations, residential premises and garages mentioned and not mentioned in them. According to the declaration for 2017, his registered place of residence is in Poltava, and his actual residence is in Kyiv. However, the candidate did not declare property rights to any residential facilities in Poltava at the time of participation in the HACC competition.
Lehkykh passed almost all stages of selection, and the HCCJ confirmed his ability to administer justice in the High Anti-Corruption Court. However, the candidate did not receive enough points.
According to media reports, Mariana Hrechaniuk, one of the suspects in Onyshchenko’s “gas case,” investigated by the NABU and now being considered by the High Anti-Corruption Court, was among Lehkykh’s clients.
Mykola Kucheriavenko, First Vice-Rector at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, member of the Expert Council at the NACP.
In 2018, the National Police drew up reports on Kucheryavenko’s administrative offenses related to corruption, which he challenged in court. It is a question of not making significant changes in the property status in the declaration.
In regards to one of the reports, the court found illegal actions to collect information from the NPU. In another court hearing, the administrative case was closed due to the expiration of the term. Then the appeal of the decision of the first instance changed and closed for lack of structure of an administrative offense.
Oleksii Savchuk, managing partner in the Assyria Law Firm.
In 2018, during a search of the premises belonging to Assyria, USD 70,700 was found and seized. The assets were reportedly seized.
Apart from questions about the integrity and moral of the candidates, the organization did not find evidence from open sources of sufficient experience in law enforcement or anti-corruption in two of three candidates. If the official documents of the candidates confirm the analysis, it will be considered a violation of current legislation.
The selection commission must consist of honest, independent, and professional experts.
Let us remind you that representatives from international partners delegated to the commission are: Karen Greenaway, former FBI Special Agent, International Corruption Unit; Drago Kos, Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery; and Povilas Malakauskas, former Director of the Lithuanian National Security Department.
