Shokin was named prosecutor general in February 2015, one year after Viktor Yanukovych, the country’s president at the time, fled the country for Russia following street protests and violent clashes in the capital, Kiev.
Western officials hoped Shokin would aggressively prosecute the extensive corruption — reportedly totaling in the tens of billions of dollars — that authorities uncovered among Yanukovych and his associates.
Public opinion swiftly turned against Shokin, however. He was seen as insufficiently pursuing, and in some instances hindering, cases against the Yanukovych-era officials.
Among these was an investigation into Zlochevsky, Yanukovych’s minister for ecology and natural resources.
In 2014, authorities in Britain froze $23 million linked to Zlochevsky as part of a case against him for alleged money laundering. Shokin’s predecessor, Vitaly Yarema, failed to provide documents requested by British officials, and the money was released in the beginning of 2015.
In September 2015, then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt gave a speech in which he criticized Shokin for his failure to actively combat corruption.
Calls for Shokin’s dismissal grew through 2015. However, they were resisted by then-President Petro Poroshenko, who had appointed Shokin and with whom he shared a close relationship.
To pressure Poroshenko to dismiss Shokin, the Obama administration threatened to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees.
In March 2016, Shokin was dismissed.
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Originally Posted by Cat Mom
