Criticism fierce as anti-corruption prosecutor Kasko resigns, citing obstruction by Shokin
In this farewell press conference,
Kasko cited corruption and sabotage by General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin in combatting corruption and instituting the rule of law.
“The same political interference, direct and total pressure on investigators and prosecutors, intentional professional degradation, inaction and impunity hide behind the screen of an allegedly reformed body,” Kasko said. “The Prosecutor General’s Office is currently a dead body, and no one believes in its independence and efficiency anymore.”
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The developments come as Shokin, despite working for a year in one of the most corrupt and lawbreaking nations in Europe, has failed to submit a single high-profile criminal case to court.
Kasko said he resigned after Shokin deprived him of much of his authority. He said that Shokin had turned his office into a completely corrupt institution, with all attempts to change the system being derailed.
“The current leadership of the prosecutor’s office has once and for all turned it into a body where corruption dominates, and corrupt schemes are covered up,” he said in his letter of resignation. “…Ukrainians expected this law enforcement agency to prosecute the Yanukovych regime’s corruption and other crimes following the (2013-2014) Revolution of Dignity but it has turned into a tool of political intimidation and profiteering once and for all.”