Political Games by National Anti-Corruption Bureau: suspended Mayor of Rivne reveals who drafted the corruption protocol against him

The corruption protocol against the Mayor of Rivne, Alexander Tretyak, which led to his suspension from office through a court decision was drafted by the Deputy Chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, Artem Sytnyk, who himself has been on the list of individuals committing corruption offenses for the past four years.

This information is based on court documents obtained by the “Ukrainian News” publication.

The ousted Mayor of Rivne, Alexander Tretyak, has claimed that Sytnyk prepared not a protocol but rather a draft protocol with significant violations. He stated, “Sytnyk himself is included in the list of corrupt individuals. Furthermore, he didn’t prepare a protocol but a draft protocol with severe irregularities. This is completely unacceptable. He never met with me and wrote that I refused to provide an explanation. I have never seen what should be called a protocol for my alleged violation.”

According to him, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is involved in political games. “In 2021, they provided explanations that the funds deposited into a mayoral candidate’s election fund are not considered gifts or income. And imagine, in 2023, they draft a protocol because they were told to from above. What was not a conflict of interest in 2021 has become one in 2023. Such disgraceful protocols by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine are becoming a tool for trying people they find inconvenient. They fabricated a pretext, filed it in court and a dishonest, corrupt court makes decisions as it pleases,” Tretyak remarked.

He also noted that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the prosecutor’s office did not request the application of the article sanctioning the removal of the city mayor from office. “The court decided to take the position of the prosecuting authority and made the decision to suspend me. Not even the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine requested this. The maximum fine that was stipulated if my guilt were proven fairly was 6,800 hryvnias. How proportional is that: a fine and suspension from office with an explanation for a year, essentially until the next elections?” he asked.

Additionally, Tretyak claimed that he, like Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko of Chernihiv, was dismissed from his mayoral position with a record in his employment record book. “In other words, I have been dismissed since the appellate court decision and it’s written in my employment record book. They copied the court decision from Mayor Atroshenko, changing only the surnames. I suspect that Tretyak and Atroshenko won’t be the end of this; there will be attempts by the central government to suspend several more mayors,” Tretyak revealed.

He also stated that he is filing a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights.