Ukraine’s parliament has sacked the country’s chief prosecutor over his alleged attempts to stall high-profile corruption investigations and cover up state graft.
The decision should cheer Western allies increasingly concerned that the former Soviet country is reverting to a culture of sleaze since it ousted a Russian-backed president and chose an alliance with Europe in a historic 2014 revolt.
Lawmakers voted by an overwhelming 289 votes to six to accept the resignation of prosecutor general Viktor Shokin from the post he has held since February 2015.
“Hallelujah! Finally!” Ukraine’s reformist acting Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius tweeted after the vote.
Shokin has been ensnared in a web of ugly charges that also cast a cloud over Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s commitment to the policy of clean hands he promised when elected in 2014.
His many detractors accused Shokin of failing to look into the reported theft of state funds by the deposed Russian-backed leadership.
He is also accused of blocking probes into prosecutors fired after cash and diamonds were discovered in their homes.
Shokin has also allegedly covered up the corrupt dealings of people close to the ruling regime.
Poroshenko asked Shokin to quit in the face of mounting pressure during a rowdy February 16 parliament session that saw Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk survive a no-confidence vote.
Shokin submitted his letter of resignation but did not go out without a fight.
One of his final acts in office yesterday was to fire his deputy Davit Sakvarelidze – a vocal critic who had called for his boss’s dismissal.
Shokin said he was removing Sakvarelidze “for grave violations of prosecutors’ ethics and interference in the work of another prosecutor”.
Sakvarelidze retorted yesterday that Shokin’s understanding of ethics involved “theft, corruption and a conspiracy of silence”.