person:olena tyshchenko

Lawyer previously accused of large-scale fraud appointed to fight corruption
▻http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/lawyer-previously-accused-of-large-scale-fraud-appointed-to-fight-corrupti

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The Interior Ministry has appointed a woman with a history of aiding corrupt figures to be in charge of recovering stolen assets on behalf of the Nation’s Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Olena Tyshchenko, a lawyer who previously represented the interests of Kazakh-banker-turned-fugitive Mukhtar Ablyazov, has been chosen to head the bureau’s department on recovering Ukrainian assets illegally moved overseas.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced the appointment on July 7, praising Tyshchenko as a “remarkable individual” with vast professional experience.

But lawmaker Serhiy Leshchenko soon took to Facebook to slam Avakov’s decision, pointing out that while Avakov had credited Tyshchenko with nine years of experience in the Verkhovna Rada’s committee on corruption, she had actually only worked for less than a year – and for the rest of the time she hadn’t even been in the country.

She was, however, visiting her fugitive boss in France and London, according to the French authorities, not to mention spending time in a Russian jail on suspicion of large-scale fraud, according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and Tyshchenko herself — although she says she was jailed for political reasons.

“In other words, out of nine years of service to the state, Tyshchenko spent eight years not serving the state at all, but in London, France and in a Moscow detention facility. And now she will be responsible for cooperating with Western security services in recovering stolen assets. Do you not find that ridiculous?” Leshchenko wrote.

Tyshchenko was jailed by the Russian authorities in the fall of 2013 on suspicion of large-scale fraud and the laundering of more than $3.3 billion in illegally obtained funds. The allegations against her stemmed from her time representing Ablyazov, the former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank.

#Abliazov #arnaque_kazakhe

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.