Over 40 NGOs and media outlets demand revocation of order on Shevchuk’s participation in SAPO selection commission – statement
More than 40 civil society organisations and media outlets issued a joint statement to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine demanding that he revoke the order to include lawyer Oleksii Shevchuk in the selection committee for the leadership of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Anti-Corruption Centre with reference to the statement.
The Anti-Corruption Action Centre, public organisations and media outlets have appealed to the Prosecutor General
"A week ago, the public learned about the inclusion of lawyer Oleksiy Shevchuk in the commission that will select candidates for key positions in the SAPO. Despite the wave of outrage, there has been no reaction. Therefore, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre and dozens of public organisations and media outlets have appealed to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko with an open statement," the report says.
STATEMENT
"We, the representatives of civil society organisations and the public, who have signed below, are addressing the Prosecutor General in connection with the decision to include lawyer Oleksii Shevchuk in the Competition Commission, which will select candidates for vacant administrative positions in the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (hereinafter - the Commission).
The National Bar Association of Ukraine reported that Order No. 405 of 23 December 2025 determined the composition of the Competition Commission, to which Oleksiy Shevchuk was included by direct decision of the Prosecutor General.
A number of public organisations and figures have already called on the Prosecutor General to revoke the order appointing Shevchuk to the Commission. However, the Prosecutor General has not yet responded to any of these public appeals.
The legal requirements for members of the Competition Commission are imperative: according to the Law of Ukraine "On the Prosecutor's Office," members of the Competition Commission must be persons who have an impeccable business reputation, high professional and moral qualities, public authority, are honest, and meet the requirements for appropriate professional experience. Despite the fact that paragraph 4 of part three of Article 29-1 of the Law provides for the possibility of the Prosecutor General appointing members of the Competition Commission in the event that the Council of Prosecutors submits an insufficient number of candidates, this does not cancel or weaken the requirements for integrity and impeccable reputation of candidates for membership of the Commission.
We believe that a number of publicly known facts cast reasonable doubt on Oleksii Shevchuk's compliance with the legal requirements for a member of the Competition Commission:
- Oleksii Shevchuk appeared in journalistic investigations into the transfer of more than 200 men of draft age abroad through abuse of the "Shliakh" system, on the basis of which the National Police initiated criminal proceedings.
- Oleksii Shevchuk has been repeatedly stripped of his licence and suspended from practising law for gross violations of ethics, in particular for publicly insulting colleagues and veterans. In particular, NGL.media reported that on 19 December 2023, the Kyiv Region Bar Association decided to strip Oleksii Shevchuk of his right to practise law for violating the rules of professional ethics. It was also noted that in February 2023, his licence had already been suspended for three months due to an offensive post about veteran and lawyer Masy Nayem. The decision of the Kyiv Region Bar Association was overturned in February 2024 on purely formal grounds.
- Oleksii Shevchuk's support for the "dictatorial laws of 16 January" and his hosting of a programme on a channel associated with Viktor Medvedchuk testify to his poor public reputation and media and political background;
- In 2023, the Ethics Council officially determined that Oleksii Shevchuk did not meet the criteria of professional ethics and integrity. This decision specifically mentions the circumstances that raised reasonable doubts about the candidate's integrity: the unconfirmed legality of the sources of funds used for the construction of real estate, as well as the use of documents intended to mislead.
The competition procedures for selecting the leadership of the SAPO must be not only formally legal, but also unquestionably legitimate in the eyes of society and Ukraine's international partners. The inclusion in the Competition Commission of a person subject to the above-mentioned reputational and disciplinary circumstances creates risks of discrediting the Competition Commission itself and its decisions, undermining confidence in the selection procedure for the SAPO leadership, and weakening the capacity of the SAPO as a key institution of the anti-corruption system.
In view of the above, and guided by the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On the Prosecutor's Office", we demand that Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko:
1. Bring the composition of the Competition Commission into line with the requirements of the Law, ensuring unconditional compliance with the criteria of integrity, impeccable business reputation and public authority of its members.
2. To revoke the order appointing Oleksii Shevchuk as a member of the Competition Commission and to appoint a replacement who meets the requirements of the Law.
We believe that an urgent response to this situation is necessary to maintain confidence in the competition procedures, protect the independence of the SAPO and ensure the proper functioning of Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure."
The statement was signed by more than 40 civil society organisations, initiatives and media outlets, including the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Transparency International Ukraine, the CHESNO Movement, Bihus.Info, NGL.media, Slidstvo.Info, Chetverta Vlada, as well as several public figures and military personnel.
What preceded this?
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko delegated lawyer Oleksii Shevchuk, who represented Illia Kyva, to the Commission for selecting candidates for senior positions at the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
