18:44 26.07.2018

Kholodnytsky's voluntary resignation is the only way to save SAPO’s reputation

2 min read
Kholodnytsky's voluntary resignation is the only way to save SAPO’s reputation

Anticorruption organization Transparency International Ukraine calls on head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) Nazar Kholodnytsky to leave his post on his own.

"The Ukrainian chapter of the global anti-corruption movement is convinced that it is the only move that can be made by head of the SAPO to restore trust in the institution headed by him and renew intense anti-corruption activity in Ukraine," TI Ukraine said in its statement posted by the press service on Thursday.

TI Ukraine said, "The head of an institution is its leader and the representative by whom the entire institution is judged – that is why his soiled reputation casts shade on the entire SAPO."

"Transparency International Ukraine urges Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office Nazar Kholodnytsky to resign from his work in prosecution. Given the circumstances, preservation of SAPO's independence and people’s trust in the institution is essential for further anti-corruption activity in Ukraine," the statement reads.

Earlier on this day the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors (QDCP) recommended that Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) Nazar Kholodnytsky be reprimanded, rather than dismissed from his post for a committed disciplinary offense.

Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Artem Sytnyk told the meeting of the QDCP that the Security Service of Ukraine is investigating the criminal proceedings on the fact of instigating Kholodnytsky to testify and disclose the information of the pretrial investigation: "I know that, in fact, incitement to testify was made in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions and on the fact of disclosure of information of pretrial investigation. These proceedings were sent to the Investigation Department of the SBU."

In March 2018 it was discovered that Nazar Kholodnytsky had hidden recording devices installed in his office. The recordings revealed that head of the SAPO warned individuals involved in criminal proceedings about investigative actions, interfered with prosecutors' activity and gave specific advice to witnesses and suspects on how to avoid punishment.

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