There are no signs on the tall gray office building. Security measures are strict when ‘s film crew is directed to the top floor of the building in the heart of Kyiv.
The head of Ukraine’s anti-corruption center works there at the vantage point Daria Kaleniuk.
Kaleniuk is only 36 years old, but has already spent more than ten years in a top position. The experience is tough, because for the last few years there has been more drama in Ukraine than is reasonable for any nation.
The rapid rise to one of the most important positions in Ukraine also brought Kaleniuk to the attention of the “whole world”. This autumn, the American magazine Time raised him to the same position to the list of top managerswhich former Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin got to a couple of years earlier.
Kaleniuk heads the anti-corruption center in Ukraine. He founded the center with his fellow students Vitaly Shabunin with in 2011. The center is financed by the United States, the European Union and international organizations.
The center has revealed several high-profile cases in Ukraine cases of corruption, where state money has been misused. Kaleniuk’s group revealed, for example, that the state bought hospital goods at a premium without tendering, and the money went into the pockets of state officials.
Now Kaleniuk tells where the biggest corruption problem in Ukraine lies at the moment.
– There is a problem in the president’s office, he says.
Right after, he makes one thing clear, namely that the president himself Volodymyr Zelenskyi works as best it can.
– President Zelenskyi is an excellent speaker. He acts like (Britain’s World War II Prime Minister) Churchill to create international relations, says Kaleniuk.
But then Kaleniuk returns to trouble. According to him, Zelenskyi has outsourced the country’s internal operations to people who are loyal to him.
– That’s why we have a parallel government inside the country, he says.
Then Kaleniuk rattles off his strongest criticism:
– There are wrong people near Zelenskyi.
According to Kaleniuk, the “shadow government” is led by Zelenskyi’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak. Yermak is a former film producer, lawyer and president Zelenskyi’s “right hand”.
Yermak is Ukraine’s most important decision-maker when appointing ministers and managers to state-owned companies and other important positions.
According to Kaleniuk, two corrupt and disreputable persons work under Yermak. The other one is Oleg Tatarov. He is responsible for reforming the judiciary.
The other one is Rostyslav Shurma. He is the deputy head of the president’s office and is responsible for economic reforms and energy and reconstruction.
– These two names are now the biggest problem and have been for a long time, Kaleniuk claims.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency NABU has also raised the issue Charge against Tatarov of corruption.
Tatarov already served Zelensky’s predecessor, who was pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych era as chief of the Kyiv police. Him were previously suspected of corruption, but the charges were dismissed. Now he is facing corruption charges again. Shurma, on the other hand, finished in the fall in the middle of a corruption scandalwhile his brother made millions from energy deals with the government.
According to the latest poll, 76 percent of Ukrainians hold President Zelensky responsible for the corruption of the government and the military regime, says Kaleniuk.
– Zelenskyi is a talented professional actor who meets the expectations of his audience. Now his audience is the whole of Ukraine. He has the ability to read the general mood and it is clear that he has to act, says Kaleniuk.
Zelenskyi was later fired by the defense minister It would be Reznikov, and numerous lawsuits against Defense Department officials are pending. The ministry has allegedly bought combat uniforms for the soldiers at three times the agreed price.
Also a staunch supporter of Zelenskyi, one of Ukraine’s most influential oligarchs, Ihor Kolomoiski, has been arrested. He is accused fraud and money launderingand he is currently in custody.
The latest case of corruption in reconstruction
The most recent case is the suspected corruption related to the reconstruction of Ukraine that was revealed last week. Two high-ranking lawyers an attempt to bribe is suspected Leaders responsible for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The money that flowed from the West to help Ukraine could therefore also have gone into the wrong pockets. The West has already supported Ukraine with 233 billion euros, which is roughly three times Finland’s budget.
Ukrainians fear, and perhaps not without reason, that public corruption scandals will jeopardize Western aid. They will need help for years to come: now for military aid and later for reconstruction.
– This is why fighting corruption is almost as important as fighting in a war, states Kaleniuk.
And it’s not just about aid money, but access to the wings of the “clubs” in the West. Kaleniuk cites statistics according to which more than 85 percent of Ukrainians want their country to become members of the EU and NATO.
The doors to the EU will not open if the principles of the rule of law are not implemented. In Ukraine, it means rooting out corruption in particular.
– Ukrainians know that it would be suicide not to implement the rule of law reforms that will lead us to the EU, Kaleniuk states.
Ukraine was Transparency International In the corruption comparison of 180 countries last year, it ranked 116th and the second most corrupt country in Europe after Russia.
For $15,000 an adopted child
Kaleniuk’s spark for anti-corruption activities was ignited during his studies in Kharkiv. It was the first decade of the 21st century and Kaleniuk worked in a youth organization that helped children in orphanages.
– I wondered why there were so many children in orphanages, but the adoption queues did not progress. I started digging into the matter and found out that the reason was corruption, says Kaleniuk.
Kaleniuk found out that in order to adopt a child in Ukraine 15 years ago, a family had to pay bribes of $15,000.
– That case showed me that the root cause of Ukraine’s problems is corruption.
Kaleniuk entered the Fullbright program in the United States as a student exchange student. After returning from there, he tried to find an organization that did anti-corruption work. Work as a lawyer did not appeal.
– Working as a lawyer in Ukraine 15 years ago usually meant that you are an intermediary who brings bribes to judges or some government officials to arrange decisions. I wanted to act differently, says Kaleniuk.
On Putin’s hit list
Kaleniuk says that he was afraid at work.
– I was most afraid when Vladimir Putin gave a speech just a couple of days before the major attack on Ukraine, says Kaleniuk.
According to Kaleniuk, it was a war declaration speech that was full of hatred towards Ukraine. The anti-corruption center led by Kaleniuk also came under fire.
– He mentioned every anti-corruption reform that we have worked on in the last ten years. We are number ten on the Russian kill list.
According to Kaleniuk, the Kremlin’s plan was to attack Kiev in three days. Russian security forces were already in the city identifying key people in the Ukrainian administration and society. The order was to destroy them.
– Then Vitaly Shabunin and I realized that we are a threat to Putin and the Kremlin.
Corruption in Ukraine dates back to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
– After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin’s strategy was to use the oligarchs to rule Ukraine from the inside. This was successful in that they took over strategic former state-owned companies, says Kaleniuk.
Ukrainians had to pay bribes, for example, to get building permits for companies, so that the police wouldn’t bother them.
Now there are several anti-corruption actors in Ukraine. The government established two anti-corruption bodies after former President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in 2014. In addition, the country operates a special anti-corruption court. And of course this Anti-Corruption Center founded by Kaleniuk.
In addition, Ukrainians have an application that allows them to pay for public services online and thus avoid bribes.
According to Kaleniuk, eradicating corruption has accelerated recently, and Ukraine is on the right path for him. That’s why he has confidence in the future.
– I bet those two guys will be fired within a year, Kaleniuk says, referring to Oleg Tatarov and Rostyslav Shurma.