Petrenko Pavlo Dmytrovych

Minister of Justice with a suspicious declaration and accusations of sabotaging the Martynenko case

Classmate of Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Minister of Justice of Ukraine from February 27, 2014, to August 29, 2019 — the longest tenure in this position in modern Ukrainian history. Member of Parliament of the VII convocation from "Batkivshchyna" and VIII from "People's Front." Ex officio member of the High Council of Justice. In October 2018, the NABU opened a criminal case regarding the possible false declaration by the minister; the court ordered detectives to start the investigation after delays. An investigation by "Nashi Hroshi" established that Petrenko signed an order that helped nullify key evidence of NABU in the Martynenko case — the minister’s party colleague: the Ministry of Justice obtained the right to initiate the review of expert reports and passed them to reviewers allegedly connected to Martynenko, who issued negative conclusions. In June 2018, it became known that the minister’s niece purchased two elite apartments in Pechersk and a Lexus NX200.

Raider scandals and accusations of interfering in judicial activities

At the end of 2015, two raider scandals erupted — including the illegal seizure of the Zhytomyr Confectionery Factory; critics accused the Ministry of Justice of inaction. The Prosecutor General's Office opened proceedings regarding possible interference by Poroshenko, Petrenko, and NBU head Smoliy in the activities of the Kyiv District Administrative Court. No criminal charges personally against Petrenko have been recorded in open sources after 2019.