Andriy Kostin

Andriy Yevhenovych Kostin (Ukrainian: Андрій Євгенович Костін; born 17 April 1973) is a Ukrainian lawyer[1] and politician. As of 2022, he is a People's Deputy of Ukraine since he was elected to it 2019.[2][3] Kostin was a candidate in the 2021 competition to become the new head of the Ukrainian Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). Civil society organisations Transparency International Ukraine, Automaidan, Anti-Corruption Action Center and Dejure stated that Kostin did not satisfy the integrity criteria of the competition. Kostin was not selected.[4][5][2] Kostin was the Head of the Verkhovna Rada Legal Policy Committee for two years, from 2020 to 2022.[6] On 27 July 2022, Kostin was voted by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament of Ukraine) as the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.[6]

Not to be confused with the Russian banker Andrey Kostin.
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Yevhenovych and the family name is Kostin.

Andriy Kostin
Андрій Костін
Prosecutor General of Ukraine
Assumed office
27 July 2022
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Preceded byOleksiy Symonenko (acting)
Personal details
Born (1973-04-17) 17 April 1973
Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, (now Ukraine)
Political partyServant of the People (2019-2022)
Other political
affiliations		Independent
Alma materOdesa University
AwardsHonored Lawyer of Ukraine

Education

Andriy Kostin studied law from 1990 to 1995 at Odesa University. He qualified as a lawyer in 1995.[1]

Lawyer

Kostin was an attorney at Polonsky & Partners in Odesa from 1995 to 1998. He became Deputy Director and then Director of Pravo, a legal firm, starting in 1998. Kostin has held several roles in lawyers' organisations in Odesa and internationally. He was a member of the International Bar Association Council from 2013 to 2015.[1]

Member of parliament

Kostin served as a member of Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) from the Servant of the People party from 2019 to 2022.

Competition for head of SAPO

In 2021, a commission was established to interview candidates for the head of the Ukrainian Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), a key position for resolving corruption in Ukraine. Kostin was a candidate.[4]

In May 2021, the civil society organisations Transparency International Ukraine, Automaidan, Anti-Corruption Action Center and Dejure described Kostin as one of the candidates with "significant violations and a large discrepancy between these candidates and the integrity criteria" of the competition.[4][2] The Open Register of National Public Actors of Ukraine stated that Kostin's wife was an assistant consultant for fellow Servant of the People parliamentarian and committee member Maksym Dyrdin, whose own wife was an assistant consultant to Kostin.[5] The civil society organisations described this as "possible nepotism".[2] Verkhovna Rada records stated that Kostin received ₴20,000 per month for rental compensation during 2019–2020 without declaring any residence in Kyiv.[5][2] In 2019, Kostin sold two flats in Odesa for a total of ₴1.2 million without reporting the sale to the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC).[5][2]

Kostin was among the 37 candidates who qualified for an interview, which was scheduled for 4 June 2021.[7] Olena Shcherban, a lawyer of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, stated that Kostin should have been ineligible under the criteria for political neutrality, since he was a member of the Servant of the People party and was the head of the Verkhovna Rada legal policy committee.[8] In his "integrity interview", Kostin was questioned by the commission about his visit to Crimea, occupied by Russian security forces.[5] Following his integrity interview, Kostin did not qualify for further steps in the competition.[5]

Legislative actions

In July 2021, while legislation for creating the Ukrainian Ethics Council was being debated, Kostin proposed an amendment to reduce the mandate of international members of the Council from six years, as proposed by the Venice Commission, to three years. His amendment was rejected.[9]

Minsk agreements

In November 2021, as deputy chair of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine negotiating the Minsk agreements that aimed to resolve the War in Donbas, Kostin stated that the Russian delegation "didn't want to continue" negotiations on a draft law for local self-government in Donbas.[10]

Prosecutor General

On 27 July 2022, Kostin was voted by Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, as the new Prosecutor General of Ukraine, in replacement of Iryna Venediktova.[3][6]

Scandals

Refusal to initiate criminal proceedings

On 3 November 2022, Kostin, refused to open a case against his former party colleague Iryna Allakhverdieva for receiving a gift of ₴20 million within the prescribed period. She also received a watch DEFY MIDNIGHT for ₴310 thousand, encrusted with 11 white diamonds.[11][12]

References
  1. "Andriy Kostin". Tomorrow's Lawyer. 2017. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  2. "НЕгідні очолити САП" [The unholy opposition to SAPO]. Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 2021. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  3. "Zelenskyy's party MP is likely to become Ukraine's new prosecutor general, NV sources say". New Voice of Ukraine. 22 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. "Civil Society Organizations Present the List of Dishonest Candidates for SAPO Leadership". Transparency International Ukraine. 26 May 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. "Dependable KDAC: how PO wants to use Vovk's services in order to have 'their' person on the position of the head of the SAPO". Anti-Corruption Action Center. 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  6. Sukhov, Oleg (27 July 2022). "Andriy Kostin appointed prosecutor general. Here's what we know about him". The Kyiv Independent. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  7. Rizhenko, Kateryna (4 June 2021). "First One Passes. Another Day of Interviews for SAPO Head". Transparency International. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  8. Sukhov, Oleg (14 May 2021). "Investigation: Corruption suspect at president's office influences selection of top prosecutor". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  9. "The chance for real judicial reform: The Rada supported cleansing of the High Council of Justice". Anti-Corruption Action Center. 14 July 2021. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. "Russia blocking Donbas settlement talks - Ukraine's delegate to TCG". Ukrinform. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  11. "Нардепці від "Слуги народу" подарували 20 млн грн: суд змусив прокуратуру відкрити провадження". ТСН.ua (in Ukrainian). 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  12. ⚡За Велике будівництво в Дніпрі відкрили справу / Хто заплатить за Роттердам / На САП "забули" гроші, retrieved 3 November 2022
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