Andriy Kostin, the Prosecutor-General of Ukraine, attends a discussion panel at the “Ukraine 2024 Independence Forum”, held in Kyiv on August 27, 2024. (Oleksandr Kostin / Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images)
The official reason for the resignation of the Prosecutor-General Andriy KOSTIN on October 22 was the ongoing major scandal involving hundreds prosecutors who received disability benefits, such as financial support, and the ability to evade military drafts and leave the country without notice.
The question is whether Kostin’s resignation will solve the fake disability documents problem and corruption in the prosecutor’s office and whether his successor will be any more effective.
Some anti-corruption campaigners blame him for the scandal.
The Kyiv Independent reported that Olena Shcherban was a deputy executive at the Anti-Corruption Action Center in Kyiv. “The resignation was meant to ease public tension,” Olena said. “But will this solve the problem?” “We are still a long way from that.”
There are other possible reasons for Kostin being fired, besides the scandal.
According to Shcherban, a journalist who has exposed high-level corruption, and Yury Nikolov, an investigative reporter, Kostin could have been unhappy about the decision of the prosecutor to approve corruption cases against members of the president’s own party.
OleksandrLemenov, the head of anticorruption watchdog StateWatch, said that the President’s Office was also unhappy about Kostin’s frequent travels abroad.
Lemenov and Nikolov, citing their own sources, also claimed that Kostin allegedly wanted to resign.
“I think he’s on his way out and was hoping to get a ambassadorial position in The Hague,” said a source familiarized with the decision-making process in Zelensky’s office, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The Kyiv Independent polled experts to assess Kostin’s performance.
On the one hand they say that he hasn’t achieved any great things and that there have been no attempts to reform the corrupt prosecutor’s office.
They argue that Kostin didn’t sabotage or block any high-profile cases.
Nadiya Maksimets, Kostin’s spokesperson, told The Kyiv Independent that he wasn’t immediately available to comment. The President’s Office has not responded to requests for comments.
Resignation: Reasons for resignation
Kostin resigned amid reports that prosecutors were illegally obtaining disabilities status in masse.
Kostin stated on October 20 that only 61 prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi oblast had received disability certificates.
Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said on October 22 that in 2024 the SBU exposed corruption schemes in medical examination commissions. This led to the cancellation of 4,106 false disability status certificates.
Kostin resigned after a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, which was presided over by Zelensky.
Kostin said that during the meeting “many shameful abuses” were revealed and the “immorality” of the fake disabilities of the prosecutors.
“I am grateful for the trust of the President of Ukraine and Verkhovna Rada. In this situation, however, I think it’s right for me resign as prosecutor general,” said he.
The Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) has not yet approved Kostin’s resignation.
Shcherban, from the Anti-Corruption Action Center, said that Kostin was being blamed by authorities for the scandal involving fake disability certificates.
She said that the problem with prosecutors being involved in corrupt practices existed long before Kostin.
She told the Kyiv Independent that “it’s the result of systemic issues and a lack in desire to reform the Prosecutor’s Office.” “The reform of prosecutor’s has failed.”
Shcherban said that efforts made by the former Prosecutor-General Ruslan Riaboshapka, who was fired in 2020, to screen prosecutors and fire them if they did not meet integrity or professionalism standards, stalled.
Nikolov, a former investigator of corruption in the Defense Ministry and the Law Enforcement, dismissed Kostin’s decision to blame him as “populism.”
“Kostin’s not the problem,” he said to the Kyiv Independent.
Nikolov believes that the corrupt system is to blame. Kostin should have been given the task of reforming the prosecutor’s office and firing corrupt prosecutions instead of avoiding this responsibility.
Kostin could have resigned because she didn’t obstruct any corruption investigations, not even against those close to the President.
Shcherban said that the President’s Office may have been unhappy about Kostin’s decision to authorize charges against lawmakers from Zelensky’s Servant of the People Party, brought by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
Nikolov said that according to his sources Kostin rarely communicated with President’s Office and that there was tension between him and President’s Office.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify this claim.
Vitaly Shabunin of the Anti-Corruption Action Center accused the President’s Office in August of allowing Artem Dmytryk, a pro-government legislator, to flee abroad, before he was charged with beating up a law enforcement officer, and a soldier.
Andriy Odarenko, another Servant of the People legislator, fled Ukraine in September through Zakarpattia Oblast before being charged with corruption. Odarchenko admitted to being friends with Viktor Mykyta. He is a former governor of Zakarpattia Oblast, and currently a Deputy Head of the President’s Office.
The prosecutor general was blamed for allowing the incident to occur.
Lemenov believes that Kostin’s frequent trips abroad could have been another source of tension.
The Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported in April that Kostin had spent 103 business days abroad in 2023. It cited Kostin’s asset declaration, sources from law enforcement, and his response to a request made by Oleksiy Honcharenko, a lawmaker.
According to the news outlet, he spent half of his trips in the U.S. where his wife lives.
Kostin’s track record
Kostin, according to anti-corruption activists, has a mixed record as prosecutor general.
Shcherban said, “I don’t think there are any great achievements (under Kostin) or failures.”
Shcherban and Nikolov say that Kostin’s biggest advantage is that he did not block NABU investigations, unlike his predecessor Iryna Veediktova. Shcherban said that “Kostin was worried about his reputation with international partners.”
Venediktova denied the accusations.
The investigation of Russian war crime is one of the achievements that Kostin’s office has highlighted.
Yury Belousov is the head of the war crime department at the Prosecutor General’s Office. He said that in early October, 708 Russian soldiers were charged with war crimes, and 131 of them were convicted.
Lemenov was sceptical, stating that “anyone could be considered more efficient if compared to Venediktova.” Kostin was referred to as a “shadow prosecutor” by Lemenov due to his alleged inactivity.
Lemenov stated that “two years and three month have passed since Kostin’s appointment as Prosecutor General.” “Whether or not he was present makes no difference.”
Lemenov said that Kostin had appointed him to several vetting committees, but the prosecutor general had not made any efforts to reform or fix Ukraine’s stagnant prosecution.
Kostin was a candidate for the position of chief anti-corruption prosecutor between 2021-2022 before he was appointed as prosecutor.
Several civic watchdogs including the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ACAC), AutoMaidan, Dejure and Transparency International concluded that Kostin violated the principle political neutrality and did not meet the standards of ethics and integrity. The watchdogs viewed him as too close to Zelensky’s administration and the Anti-Corruption Action Center.
He was eventually vetoed and not hired by a panel of international experts.
The panel’s veto was based on allegations of nepotism, and alleged violations with Kostin’s asset declarations. He denied the allegations of wrongdoing.
Kostin was also criticized for visiting Russian occupied Crimea in both 2015 and 2018. He claimed that he visited a doctor in the occupied peninsula.
No clear successor yet
Shcherban said that regardless of Kostin’s record, “the crucial question is who will succeed him.”
She added that there is a high probability that his successor would be worse and less independet than Kostin.
Nikolov said his resignation would be only if Kostin was replaced by an effective prosecutor who would reform the prosecution’s office and fire anyone responsible for violations.
Shcherban claims that two potential candidates are being considered to replace Kostin: Odesa Oblast governor Oleh Kiper, and Kyiv Oblast governor Ruslan Kravchenko.
NV, a Ukrainian news outlet, reported on October 23 that Kravchenko might replace Kostin, citing sources in the Prosecutor’s General’s Office and Verkhovna Rada.
Shcherban said Kravchenko, Kiper and the President’s Office are loyalists. Kiper also has a controversial image.
After the Schemes project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published an investigation on October 23, Kiper was implicated in a scandal involving corruption. Schemes reported that alleged Kiper proteges and business associates had acquired assets owned by a sanctioned Russian entrepreneur.
Kiper denies having business ties with them.
Oleg Sukhov works as a reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He was a former Moscow Times editor and reporter. He holds a master’s in history from Moscow State University. He moved to Ukraine due to the crackdown in Russia on independent media and covered wars, corruption, reforms, and law enforcement.
Read More @ kyivindependent.com