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Cosmic pensions, a daughter in Monaco, and a BMW fleet: what former attorneys general are doing
Former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, on the eve of his dismissal, not only signed charges against the heads of anti-corruption agencies but also left the country. If he does not return after 19 September, when his secondment ends, Kravchenko could become the second prosecutor general in the country’s history to flee the country.
This is reported by OBOZ.UA.
In the history of independent Ukraine there have been 18 attorneys general. Of these, seven (including acting ones) served under President Volodymyr Zelensky. No head of the office has lasted in the position for more than two and a half years.
What the former prosecutors general from Zelensky’s era are doing
The first prosecutor general under Zelensky, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, stayed in office for only a little more than six months; he was dismissed in March of 2020. After his resignation he founded the public organization "Institute of Democracy and Rule of Law." His partner in the NGO is the former head of the Department of International Legal Cooperation and Asset Recovery of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Polina Chyzh.
In the summer, Ryaboshapka on his Facebook page invited people to join the "Odesa Half Marathon of Resilience," and in May on his Instagram page he criticized Zelensky’s decision to impose sanctions on former head of the Presidential Office Andriy Bohdan. Ryaboshapka called this decision "unlawful" and motivated by personal revenge. He also stated that Bohdan is "far more pro-Ukrainian than Zelensky himself and his looter friends," and called the president’s decision "grounds for impeachment."
In November of 2020 Ryaboshapka, together with Oleksandr Danyliuk (former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council) and Pavlo Klimkin (former foreign minister, who served until 2019), founded the Center for National Resilience and Development.
The former prosecutor general does not own real estate or cars. He divorced his wife Svitlana, and in recent years no new property has appeared in the records of Ryaboshapka’s parents either. The former head of the Prosecutor General’s Office has remained loyal to his longtime friend Andriy Bohdan, but apparently is no longer a "person of the president."
"I receive my pension in accordance with the law 'On pension provision for persons released from military service and some other persons' dated 9.04.1992 as amended in 2025 with interpretations provided by decisions of the Constitutional Court of 2005, 2008, 2015 years, which clarify the impossibility of limiting pensions by any regulatory acts of executive authorities, as well as the unconstitutionality of reducing the level of a pension appointed at the time this law was in effect," reads Chumak’s written response.
From March of 2020 until July of 2022, the office of prosecutor general was held by Iryna Venediktova. After her dismissal she effectively ceased public communication. Since her resignation she has held the position of Ukraine’s ambassador to Switzerland. The former prosecutor general hid her declaration; there is also no declaration for her husband, Denys Kolesnyk, in the NACP register—he worked at the National Police as deputy head of the cyberpolice department.
After Venediktova, for 10 days the acting prosecutor general was Oleksiy Symonenko, and on 28 July 2022 the Verkhovna Rada, upon the president’s nomination, appointed Andriy Kostin to the post. He served until October of 2024, that is 2 years and 3 months. Interestingly, Venediktova served for 2 years and 4 months. Like his predecessor, after dismissal he became an ambassador. Since 2024 the former prosecutor general has been working in the Netherlands.
Kostin himself lost his post as a result of a scandal regarding prosecutors’ pensions. It turned out that some of them obtained disability status and, through the courts, secured early pensions, the amounts of which in some cases reached more than 100 thousand hryvnias.
Kostin’s largest scandal is linked to his daughter Anastasia. In 2023 she wrote on her Instagram page that she was “f***ing sick of” Scotland and Finland and that she wanted to “go home to MONACO!!!” The post attracted media attention; the girl apologized but later deleted her page.
Notable prosecutors general: what else former heads of the office are known for
The true record-holder among prosecutors general is Sviatoslav Piskun. He is the only one who led the office three times: in 2002–2003, 2004–2005, and then again in 2007. He was also an adviser to Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova in 2020.
As early as 2016 Piskun stated that his family had already lived for 10 years in the town of Le Cannet (located on the French Riviera near Cannes). Piskun’s estate was shown by former MP Serhiy Leshchenko.
However, the former prosecutor general’s family ties to Ukraine remain. In 2021 Piskun’s daughter Tetyana became the owner of a brand-new Audi Q7 2021. At that time such a car cost up to 75 thousand dollars. In addition, she owns seven real estate properties in Ukraine. In particular, a house of 260,9 sq. m in Irpin and a house in Kyiv of 744,8 sq. m.
The latter property is located on Obolonska embankment and could cost over a million dollars. It’s an estate with a view of the Dnipro in one of the most expensive areas. In addition, the former prosecutor’s daughter owns a house of 260,9 sq. m in Yaremche.
Piskun’s wife Svitlana owns four real estate properties in Ukraine. In particular, she owns a house of 109 sq. m in Yaremche.
How a former prosecutor general became a sole proprietor with million-dollar assets
Vitaliy Yarema served as prosecutor general from June of 2014 to February of 2015. The former MP and retired police lieutenant general built a career in public service and politics, but after his dismissal he became a sole proprietor (FOP).
Apparently, Yarema is a very successful sole proprietor; his wealth attests to that. For example, his vehicle fleet includes two cars and a BMW motorcycle. He owns:
BMW X5 M50I 2020 (currently such a car costs about 60 thousand dollars);
BMW X7 2022 (can cost about 60 thousand dollars);
BMW motorcycle F 900R 2023 (costs about 10 thousand dollars).
In 2017 Yarema became the owner of an apartment of 219,1 sq. m and a parking space in the residential complex on Redutna Street, 67. This residential complex is located near the "Motherland Homeland" monument and was built in 2016. It appears the prosecutor either invested in the construction of the apartment or bought it immediately after the building was commissioned. At that time housing in this complex was significantly cheaper. Now an apartment like Yarema’s can cost more than 900 thousand dollars.
His wife Margarita owns a BMW iX 2025, which can cost around 85 thousand dollars. His daughter Ilona owns a BMW M4 2024 worth about 100 thousand dollars. She also owns the apartment adjacent to her father’s on Redutna Street, 67. There is also an apartment of 113,7 sq. m in the "Novopecherski Lypky" residential complex.
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