Personnel “fixer” Alexander Vatutin — Media report on Venediktova’s new advisor

Personnel “fixer” Alexander Vatutin — Media report on Venediktova’s new advisor

The new advisor to Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, formerly her assistant while she headed the State Bureau of Investigation and an ex-employee of the department for procedural supervision of pre-trial investigations and state prosecution support in the office overseeing compliance by the State Fiscal Service with the law at the Prosecutor General’s Office, Alexander Vatutin will be responsible for shadow personnel appointments as part of organizing corrupt flows from the regions to Kyiv.

This is written by the publication "KOMENTARI."

Journalists note that in prosecutorial and business circles Vatutin is known for his ties to smugglers, in particular Vadym Alperin and Viktor Sherman. The outlet also gives examples of cases in which Vatutin was involved in illegally closing criminal proceedings against entrepreneurs who evaded taxes, and says he controlled the entire market for coffee product supplies to Ukraine, exerting pressure on certain companies and forcing them to pay for non-interference in their activities.

In the first case there is a decision in the public information space from the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors that details how Vatutin, while serving as a prosecutor in the department for procedural supervision of pre-trial investigations and state prosecution support in the office overseeing compliance by the State Fiscal Service with the law at the Prosecutor General’s Office, turned a blind eye to entrepreneurs’ tax evasion despite evidence found by fiscal officers. A fabric merchant deliberately declared lower turnover than he actually had (to pay taxes as a sole proprietor under the simplified system). Law enforcement was able to record discrepancies in the documents and visually document shipments of large batches of goods at the warehouse. The Qualification Commission did not find violations in Vatutin’s actions.

The publication writes that in the Prosecutor General’s Office, in the position of “advisor without procedural authority,” Alexander Vatutin will handle "personnel control over financial flows that should go from regional prosecutor’s offices to Kyiv." The journalists cite several examples of such personnel appointments. Among them is Alexander Panov, former head of the Kirovohrad local prosecutor’s office, who, like Venediktova, began his career in Kharkiv and became acting head of the PGO department for supervision of the State Bureau of Investigation’s activities. Also on this list is Roman Mazuryk, former head of local prosecutor’s office No.2 in Zaporizhzhia, whom Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko dismissed for improper performance of duties (he was reinstated through the courts) — he became deputy head of the Kyiv region prosecutor’s office. The media write about his rapid career in the region, attributing to him cooperation with the well-known regional "boss" Yevhen Anisimov, and with former prosecutor Andriy Akrytov, who was involved in extortion in the construction sector.

Also on the list are Anatoliy Kovalenko, deputy head of the PGO department for supervision of the State Fiscal Service’s activities; Dmytro Verbytskyi, who is soon to be appointed deputy prosecutor of Odesa region; and Yuriy Sharnin, who will also be appointed deputy prosecutor of Odesa region for the security bloc.

“According to sources in the Prosecutor General’s Office, these are only the first appointments that Alexander Vatutin carried out through his status as an ‘advisor.’ Going forward, all personnel appointments in the regions will also go through him, so in the biographies of new people one should look not only for professional achievements, but also signs of corrupt ties to the new ‘shadow general’ in Kyiv,” the publication summarizes.