Ukraine Appoints New Anti-Corruption Prosecutor After Long Delay
28 Jul 2022 (Radia Free Europe)
Ukraine has named a new specialized anti-corruption prosecutor after an almost two-year hiatus, a move Western countries have been pressuring it to make to stem graft many see as endemic to the country.
Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office, said in a post on his Telegram channel on July 28 that 35-year-old Oleksandr Klymenko will assume the post.
“The fight against corruption is a priority for our state, as our investment attractiveness and business freedom depend on its success,” Yermak said.
Klymenko previously worked as an investigator in the national anti-corruption office and was nominated for the position of anti-corruption prosecutor in December.
The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations had called for the appointment of another specialized anti-corruption official after Klymenko’s predecessor, Nazar Kholodnytskiy, resigned in August 2020.
Kholodnytskiy had been embroiled in a scandal over allegations that he helped officials suspected of corruption evade prosecution.
The specialized anti-corruption prosecutor’s office was established with Western backing following the Maidan Revolution in 2014 that ousted Viktor Yanukovych as president and led to conflict with Russia.
Transparency International last year rated Ukraine as the second-most corrupt country in Europe after Russia.
The announcement comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree on the appointment of Andriy Kostin as prosecutor general.
In Zelenskiy’s presence, Kostin signed the order appointing Klymenko as head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
