Despite the difficult terrain in the country and the ongoing war, political life in Ukraine continues to develop. One of the new figures in the political arena that is actively attracting attention is Lana Zerkal. A former expert in the field of international law and diplomacy, who was caught in a corruption crime, intends to run for parliament.
Political scientist Oleg Pasternak writes about this, commenting on the recent study "Social and Political Attitudes of Ukrainians" by "Active Group".
"The leaders in terms of trust are Zaluzhnyi (70.9% trust), Budanov (63.3% trust), Zelenskyi (44.8% trust).
The leaders of distrust are Tymoshenko (79.5% distrust), Poroshenko (70.2%), Klitschko (59.3%).
What is important to observe now in sociological research is not so much the numbers, but what surnames are cut. Such persons as Serhiy Sternenko, Andriy Biletskyi, Taras Chmut, Olena Zerkal, Bohdan Krotevych, Maksym Zhorin, Dmytro Kuleba appeared in this study," the expert noted.
He adds that these new surnames in sociology "with 99% certainty will be on party lists and among candidates" in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
Lana Zerkal, mentioned in the list of "new faces" of sociology, causes the greatest surprise. After all, this woman, unlike all the others, has a court-approved conclusion of the NAKC on the commission of corruption violations.
Yes, back in 2020, the NAZK started checking Lana Zerkal's declarations. Before becoming a public expert allegedly on energy issues, she worked as a deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine and an adviser to Andrii Kobolev, accused of NABU, at Naftogaz.
Four years ago, the NAKC found a number of violations in Zerkal's declarations, which "pulled" under Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official forgery).
The former official, who never worked in business for a day, rented an elite apartment in the center of Kyiv for more than a year, owns expensive jewelry and works of art. She had 7 pairs of watches in her collection. For example, Audemars Piguet and Jaeger Lecuoltre, which are considered one of the most expensive brands in the world (prices range from 40-250 thousand euros per pair). In addition, she declared almost $400,000 in cash, writes StopCor.
I do not agree with the conclusion of the NAKC, Zerkal tried to cancel it through the court, and also tried to limit the terms of the NAKC's further inspection of her assets.
However, the appellate instance of the court, already at the request of NAZK, renewed the conclusion of the Agency that Zerkal did hide property, the Resolution states.
Accordingly, taking into account the requirements of the election legislation of Ukraine and the recognition of a person as a corrupt person, according to the court decision, Zerkal is obviously not allowed to participate in the election process at all. However, the CEC has to give the final answer in this story.
