The Ukrainian chapter of the global anti-corruption network Transparency International calls on the Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko to inform the public on the progress of corruption crimes investigation committed by the former regime officials Mykola Azarov, Eduard Stavytskyi, Sergii Arbuzov, Sergii Kurchenko and Oleksandr Klymenko. The organization also asks to inform when the open record of corruption crimes investigations will be launched.

Two months ago, on May 22, 2017, at the TI Ukraine international workshop on the recovery of stolen assets, Lutsenko explained that by the end of May the Prosecutor General’s Office would finish the investigation regarding Kurchenko and Klymenko, and by the end of June, the investigation of  Arbuzov crimes will also be finished. And the cases of Azarov and Stavytskyi are already waiting for permission to begin a special pre-trial investigation. Therefore, TI Ukraine asks for information on whether the plans announced by the Prosecutor General have been brought to life and what decisions were made by the judge in each case.

At the meeting held on May, responding to questions of José Ugaz, the chair of the board of the global anti-corruption movement Transparency International, Lutsenko supported the initiative of TI Ukraine to introduce an open register of all investigations of corruption crimes committed by senior officials during the regime of the ex-corrupt-president Viktor Yanukovych. In response to the official application of TI Ukraine, the Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed this decision: “The decision of the Attorney General to introduce an open register of criminal proceedings on corruption crimes by high-ranking officials has been given to the specific units within the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine, and this unit is currently working on its creation.”

TI Ukraine admits the significant public interest in returning corrupt assets to the state budget stolen during the Yanukovych regime. It asks not to delay reporting on the progress of investigations and to inform when an open registry will be available to citizens.

Transparency International Ukraine’s official appeal to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine

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Contact  for media: Olha Tymchenko, Head of Communication Department  Transparency International Ukraine

Phone: + 38 050-352-96-18,

E-mail: [email protected]

Transparency International Ukraine is a national chapter of Transparency International, an anti-corruption NGO with over 90 national chapters; which operates in more than 100 countries. TI Ukraine’s mission is to limit the increase of corruption in Ukraine by promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity in both the public authorities and civil society. You can learn more about the organization’s activity on the website www.ti-ukraine.org