October 3, 2019
By James Politi and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington, Michael Peel in Brussels, and Roman Olearchyk in Kiev
...EU diplomats (click here) working on Ukraine at the time have, however, told the FT that they were looking for ways to persuade Kiev to remove Mr Shokin well before Mr Biden entered the picture. The push for Mr Shokin’s removal was part of an international effort to bolster Ukraine’s institutions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the armed conflict in the eastern part of the country.
“All of us were really pushing [former Ukrainian president Petro] Poroshenko that he needs to do something, because the prosecutor was not following any of the corruption issues. He was really bad news,” said an EU diplomat involved in the discussions. “It was Biden who finally came in [and triggered it]. Biden was the most vocal, as the US usually is. But we were all literally complaining about the prosecutor.”
Mr Shokin had been appointed prosecutor-general of Ukraine in February 2015, but the discussions in Washington and EU capitals about pushing for his removal started as early as April after he failed to follow through on a burst of expected early anti-corruption moves, one former US Treasury official said. Mr Biden entered the fray in December 2015, placing Mr Shokin’s removal at the top of his agenda on a visit to Kiev. “I know how the idea to have Shokin fired came up, and it wasn't Biden. His direct involvement came late in the game,” the former US Treasury official said....
The new government in Keyv was being blackmailed by their general prosecutor. Basically, Shokin was doing Putin's work to make the new power structure disappear by false accusations.
When a country's government paradigm changes from Russia to Europe, the Old Guard prepares to leave. Shokin was hanging on because he was successful in discrediting the current government with false allegations. When Vice President Biden made his statement about monies for Ukraine, Shokin no longer had the power to end the new government in favor of Russian control.
...The witness, (click here) a sand producer in the Kiev region, complained of men extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars. It took a while to persuade the man to give evidence. But when he did, and the investigation began, the trail led to two of the country’s highest-placed prosecutors.
A search of the men’s apartments revealed a scene that looked like a comic heist: bags full of cash, diamonds and other precious stones. (FLUID GET AWAY ASSETS) But that was not the only incriminating evidence. Documents seized at the time indicated the men appeared to have a connection to the top prosecutor in the land, Viktor Shokin.
Police found copies of Shokin’s passports, property registration certificates and even his licence to carry firearms. (Shokin's ability to leave the country of Ukraine, probably headed for Russia) One of the two men, it transpired, was Shokin’s former driver who had subsequently climbed the ranks behind his boss.
For Sakvarelidze, there were clear suspicions the two men may have been carrying out the business of the chief. But his attempts to investigate were frustrated. Soon, he faced a corruption investigation himself. At loggerheads with Shokin, he was pushed out of his job within the year....
HOW MANY TIMES does anyone have to prove that DONALD JOHN TRUMP IS A HABITUAL LIAR USING THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT FOR HIS OWN PURPOSES?
