Chornovol: A lot of work ahead for Ukraine’s corruption fighters
▻http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/chornovol-a-lot-of-work-ahead-for-ukraines-corruption-fighters-346344.html
One of the government’s point persons in the fight against corruption is Tetyana Chornovol, 34, the former journalist heavily beaten allegedly on orders of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
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However, to participate actively in the asset recovery projects, Chornovol hired Olena Tyshchenko, a former lawyer for Kazakhstan’s exiled politician and businessman Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is accused for laundering $3.3 billion through his BTA bank. “She is a very experienced lawyer and knows such cases very well,” said Chornovol. The appointment came with criticism, however, since Tyshchenko has personal connections through her husband with Sergiy Pashynsky, head of the President’s Administration. But Chornovol said she doesn’t see a conflict of interest.
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The anti-corruption service will employ 1,200 people in seven regional offices, investigating and preparing cases for prosecution.
After being nominated by EuroMaidan Revolution leaders on Feb. 26 and receiving her appointment on March 5, Chornovol prepared legislation outlining the model of the service. However, her plan is facing competition from Viktor Chumak, a lawmaker with Vitali Klitschko’s Ukrainian Alliance for Democratic Rerform, who has filed an alternative bill.
The two projects are different. Chornovol sees the service as an independent structure whose head is appointed by the National Security and Defense Council. Chumak envisions an anticorruption bureau, whose chief is appointed by the commission of the justice minister, prosecutor general and delegates from the president and the Verkhovna Rada. Moreover, bill allows the Anticorruption Bureau to investigate corruption schemes in the private sector, not just the public sector, which Chornovol views as a suspicious way to control business.
Lack of qualified employees is another challenge for the government’s anticorruption work. Chief anticorruption officer receives a monthly salary of $520, while the job requires serious effort and an excellent professional background. Low salaries also make some public officials more susceptible to bribes.