Judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court Kateryna Sikora, whom the NACP suspects of illicit enrichment, has obtained through the court payment of 505,000 hryvnias in compensation for salary restrictions during the quarantine. This decision has caused a wave of indignation among the public and experts, who point to a dangerous precedent for the budget of a country at war.
The gist of the matter
Judge Sikora filed a lawsuit against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, claiming that the decision to limit the salaries of civil servants and judges in 2020 during the pandemic was illegal. The court sided with her, ordering her to pay half a million hryvnias.
Political expert Oleh Posternak sharply criticized this decision. “Instead of directing these funds to purchase drones or support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they will go into the pocket of a judge whom the NACP suspects of illicit enrichment,” he noted.
A dangerous precedent
Experts warn that the case of Judge Sikora could set a precedent for other officials and judges, who could now also demand compensation for “under-earned” funds. This could result in multimillion-dollar costs for the budget of a country struggling to survive during the war.
“The VAKS, which was created to protect public funds, is actually harming the Ukrainian budget by millions,” Posternak emphasized.
Other scandals at the VAKS
This is not the first scandal involving judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court. For example:
- Markiyan Halabala illegally received official housing and failed to indicate a number of details in his declaration.
- Vitaliy Kryklyvyi was caught in housing fraud through his wife, who is also a judge at the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
Critics point to the increasing dependence of the HCJ on NABU and SAPO. According to Posternak, Judge Sikora, like many other HCJ judges, receives privileges while working in the “NABU-SAP-HCJ” triangle.
"This system is increasingly becoming a source of losses for the state. Victims of the actions of the anti-corruption bloc are appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and winning cases against Ukraine, which leads to multi-million payments," added Posternak.
According to experts, last year alone, Ukraine paid over 2 million euros in ECHR rulings. These funds could have been directed to the defense sector, but instead are being spent on compensation, in particular due to questionable decisions of the anti-corruption court.
