The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv has granted the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office access to U.S. Department of State documents regarding a $4.4 million international technical assistance project. The investigation focuses on the alleged misappropriation of funds earmarked for Ukrainian prosecutorial reforms between 2015 and 2017, potentially involving former government officials and leadership from the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC).
The pre-trial investigation (Case No. 42016000000000688) has been ongoing since March 2016. Authorities have categorized the case under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which addresses the embezzlement and misappropriation of property through abuse of office on an especially large scale.
According to investigators, former officials of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, including then-Deputy Prosecutor General David Sakvarelidze, failed to sign official agreements for the receipt and utilization of the U.S. government funds. As a result, the financial aid never reached the accounts of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, and the equipment intended for training prosecutors was never delivered. Instead, investigators allege that these assets and funds were transferred to AntAC representatives, specifically Vitaliy Shabunin and Olena Bohuslavets.
«These documents are of vital importance for establishing the circumstances of the criminal offense and cannot be obtained through any other means,» the investigating judge stated in the ruling.
Per a bilateral agreement signed between Ukraine and the United States on March 13, 2015, all property purchased using U.S. funds belongs to the Government of Ukraine, with mandatory financial reporting submitted to the U.S. Embassy.
Through international legal assistance mechanisms, Ukrainian investigators will now obtain the following documentation from competent U.S. authorities:
Project implementation reports and certificates of completion;
Detailed registries of the actual recipients of the material and technical assistance;
Information regarding the bank accounts that received the funding;
Signed contracts, invoices, customs declarations, and payment orders.
The probe into the alleged embezzlement of international aid is ongoing, and the newly authorized access to American financial records is expected to clarify the final distribution of the U.S.-funded project assets.