To understand how the electronic declarations story will impact Ukrainian politics, FaceNews spoke with a political analyst and lawyer.
The story of Ukrainian politicians and officials' electronic declarations has shaken the country. Initially, the electronic declaration system was positioned as one that would allow, among other things, criminal prosecution of officials who conceal their true wealth and those who cannot explain the origin of their assets.
In reality, politicians declared a great deal: expensive watches and cars, millions of hryvnias and dollars in cash, private churches, and numerous paintings. Clearly, it was the declarations of the people's representatives that caused the greatest stir among Ukrainians. Journalist Kostyantyn Stogniy notes that, according to calculations by the "Nadzvychayni Novyny" program, each member of parliament owns an average of 31 million hryvnias.
More specifically, MP Serhiy Melnychuk, for example, declared a trillion hryvnias in his assets, but later denied having that amount. Melnychuk's parliamentary colleague, Volodymyr Parasyuk, declared a gift from Saint Nicholas, but later expressed surprise at why it attracted public attention. As for his cash assets, Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko declared $740,000, €90,000, and hryvnias in cash.
Speaking about declarations, Ruslan Kermach, a political analyst at the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, notes that it's crucial now for the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) to effectively and impartially review documents. Furthermore, the media factor is also important. "There are declarations from people who, as their biographies show, spent their entire lives in public service or politics, without having any business interests, and these people declare fantastic amounts that bear no relation to their actual salaries. The NACP's crucial task now is to verify their veracity. This issue should also be a focus in the public sphere," Kermach explains.
Regarding the potential reputational damage to certain parties, the political analyst notes that the Petro Poroshenko Solidarity Bloc will likely bear the brunt of the blow. The analyst explains that pro-government parties consolidated their power in the aftermath of the Euromaidan and champion the idea of fighting corruption and promoting government transparency.
Kermach adds: "It's possible the Radical Party will also suffer reputational damage after Lyashko's declaration. Tymoshenko, for example, has a pretty good declaration, but again, she needs to confirm that what she wrote is accurate, because false information in declarations is also subject to prosecution."
Regarding the legal aspect of declarations, lawyer Roman Maselko notes that declarations are an important step, but only the first. "Declarations themselves are a mechanism for freeing government agencies from unscrupulous officials, judges, and law enforcement officers," the lawyer emphasizes.
According to him, NAPC has a number of functions related to the analysis of declarations. They must not only determine whether a declaration was filed on time and whether it was completed correctly, but also identify any discrepancies in these declarations and respond accordingly.
Regarding the possible legal consequences of concealing or false information in declarations, Maselko outlines several options. First, administrative liability. If the difference between declared and actual assets is between 100 and 250 minimum wages, administrative liability applies, and the court fines the declarant.
The second option involves criminal liability. "If the incorrectly declared or undeclared amount exceeds 250 minimum wages, which is currently about 344 hryvnias, then it's a criminal offense," the lawyer explains.
Maselko adds that there are sufficient mechanisms for investigating and holding true corrupt officials accountable. The question is whether they will be properly and conscientiously applied. “We've always had problems with this. We've always had declarations. They didn't include cash or specific asset details. Ninety percent of this information has already been collected. But how many corrupt officials have been punished? 0. That was the main problem. Now the key point is that there are supposedly new agencies ready to monitor, and there's a society ready and knowledgeable about how to do this. They've already learned,” the lawyer concludes.
Sofiko Wekua, Facenews
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