Apparently, we will soon see a smiling head of the Servant of the People party, Oleksandr Kornienko, on the news, who will say that he is a law-abiding citizen and has already paid the fine, writes DS.
The Servant of the People party has found itself in a very unpleasant situation. It has effectively earned itself a criminal case. The National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) discovered violations in two of the party's quarterly reports that could lead to not only administrative but also criminal liability.
"On an especially large scale by an organized group"
To assess the seriousness of the situation, we present the findings of the NAPC's analysis of the Servant of the People party's reports for the first and second quarters of 2020. In both reports, the NAPC found evidence of violations of the party's reporting procedures on assets, income, expenses, and financial liabilities. Penalty for such violations is provided for under Article 212-21 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses: a fine of 300 to 400 non-taxable minimum incomes.
In connection with this, the NAPC announced that administrative reports against the party leader are being drawn up and submitted to court. Of course, for Servant of the People party leader Oleksandr Korniyenko, this is a minor matter, but it's only the beginning of the party's troubles. For in both reports, the NAPC also found "inaccurate information contained therein."
The NAPC cites a number of facts to support these conclusions. It further asserts that "the presence of elements of criminal offenses stipulated by Article 366, Part 5 of Article 191, and Part 1 of Article 159-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine constitutes grounds for notifying law enforcement agencies."
The NACP immediately announced that it was forwarding the relevant materials to the National Police. And that, due to the violations identified, NACP Chairman Oleksandr Novikov had ordered the suspension of state funding for the Servant of the People party.
What criminal violations did the NAPC discover while studying the Servant of the People party's report?
Part one of Article 159-1 of the Criminal Code specifically addresses the deliberate submission of false information in a political party's report on assets, income, expenses, and financial liabilities. This offense is punishable by a fine of 100 to 300 non-taxable minimum incomes, or correctional labor for up to two years, or restriction of liberty for the same period, with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for five years.
More serious for "servants of the people" is Article 336 of the Criminal Code—it deals with forgery by an official, that is, the preparation or issuance of knowingly false official documents, the inclusion of knowingly false information in official documents, or other forgery of official documents. If these acts result in grave consequences, they are punishable by imprisonment for a term of two to five years, with disqualification from holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years, and a fine of 250 to 750 non-taxable minimum incomes.
According to the Supreme Court's clarifications, serious consequences may include, in particular, property damage on a large or especially large scale. It should be emphasized that the NAPC's findings refer to violations amounting to millions of hryvnias.
But the most dangerous offense for the "servants of the people" in this case is Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code—appropriation, embezzlement, or seizure of property through abuse of office, committed on an especially large scale or by an organized group. This offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 7 to 12 years, with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years, and confiscation of property.
Why has the head of the NACP become bolder?
The first question this whole story raises is, of course, why NACP head Oleksandr Novikov suddenly became so bold. It's worth remembering that he owes his position to the current government. On the very first day of the new Verkhovna Rada, Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced a bill to relaunch the NACP, and thanks to the overwhelming majority of the "Servants of the People" party, it was passed very quickly—on October 2, 2019. A competition for the position of NACP head was also held very quickly, and on December 16, 2019, the selection committee announced Oleksandr Novikov as the winner. On January 15, 2020, Novikov was appointed head of the NACP by a Cabinet of Ministers order.
Before this position, Novikov spent over 15 years in the prosecutor's office, and since 2012, in the Prosecutor General's Office. It should be emphasized that in September 2019, under President Zelenskyy, a recertification process for prosecutors began, and Novikov successfully passed it. Therefore, no one can claim that Novikov is a successor to the current government. Nevertheless, having received his position from the "servants of the people," he has now exposed them to prison sentences of 7 to 12 years and confiscation of property.
The first solution that comes to mind is that we're simply seeing further evidence of the weakening of the "servants of the people." Apparently, even the head of the NACP, who had previously kept a low profile, has suddenly become emboldened and is accusing them of criminal offenses.
But in fact, beyond the weakening of power, there's another factor that may be the most important in this story: internal competition within the anti-corruption community.
It's probably clear to everyone by now that the star of NABU Director Artem Sytnyk, who appears on the official registry of corrupt officials, will soon fade. A new director won't be appointed anytime soon. Meanwhile, the anti-corruption community needs its heroes. Western donors also need success stories of Ukrainian anti-corruption activists.
Moreover, a new administration has come to power in the United States. As a result, a review of American aid programs to other countries is expected, including those supporting anti-corruption activists in Ukraine. The stock of the so-called "Sytnyk supporters" may fall.
And here, the head of the NACP makes a very apt appearance. His agency, of course, isn't as prominent as the NABU, and its powers aren't as extensive. But, on the other hand, Novikov, unlike Sytnyk, hasn't been embroiled in numerous scandals and hasn't lost the trust of his Western partners. And with his current actions, he's dramatically increasing his political clout. Especially if these actions lead to actual criminal prosecutions.
Why Kornienko will get off with a fine
However, even if a real criminal investigation were to begin, the likelihood of convictions resulting in actual prison terms is very low. This will be ensured in two ways.
First, the authorities will try to minimize public attention to this matter. And all questions will be answered along the lines of, supposedly, the case isn't worth a damn, just a few inexperienced party volunteers who messed up their reporting.
Servant of the People party leader Oleksandr Kornienko is already putting forward a similar theory. "We're looking into this now. We want to read what they're telling us, and then we'll respond," he told Radio Liberty, emphasizing that Servant of the People plans to eliminate all violations cited by the NAPC.
As we can see, Kornienko is trying to reduce the issue to the fact that the NACP has uncovered some violations that need to be addressed. He doesn't even mention the need to conduct an internal party investigation or determine political punishment for the party functionaries who betrayed President Zelenskyy and his party. The reason is clear: during such an investigation, Kornienko risks being exposed as himself.
It's particularly important that false information amounting to millions of hryvnias was discovered in reports on the expenditure of funds received from the state budget to finance the party's statutory activities. It can be assumed that there will be deputies from other factions in parliament who will try to fan the flames of a scandal alleging that the "Servants of the People" party engaged in corruption using public funds.
Therefore, Zelenskyy won't be able to completely hush up this matter. This means he'll have to resort to the second option—giving society a small handout. Apparently, we'll soon see a smiling Kornienko on the news, explaining that he's a law-abiding citizen and has already paid the fine for the administrative offense.
At the same time, the authorities will try to either completely slow down and hush up the criminal proceedings, or ensure that of the three articles of the Criminal Code insisted on by the NACP, only one remains—Article 159-1, the lightest—and that the punishment for it is minimal, again just a fine. And even the most incorrigible optimist probably wouldn't believe that the head of our ruling party could be jailed for forgery.
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