Shokin was appointed Prosecutor General of Ukraine on 10 February 2015, replacing Vitaly Yarema.[4] He was a controversial appointee due to his perceived role in blocking prosecutions against those accused of shooting demonstrators in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.[5] As Prosecutor General, he was accused of blocking major cases against allies and influential figures and hindering the fight against corruption in Ukraine.[6]
In early April 2015, Shokin stated that the General Prosecutor Ukraine (GPU) files about criminal orders from former General Prosecutor
Viktor Pshonka[a] had disappeared, along with Pshonka's secret casework and secret materials. Shokin stated, "I will tell you more: not only criminal cases, but secret materials are missing - secret casework. Including, as far as Victor Pshonka's orders were concerned." (
Russian: Виктор Шокин: "Я вам больше скажу: пропали не только уголовные дела, но секретные материалы – секретное делопроизводство. В том числе, то, что касалось распоряжений Виктора Пшонки.").
[12][13][14]
Various street protests demanding Shokin's resignation were held.
[15][16][17] On 2 November 2015, there was an assassination attempt against him when an unidentified sniper fired three shots into his office, but was foiled by the bulletproof glass window.
[18] In response to a query from
Ukrainian News Agency in late 2019, the
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) acknowledged that it is continuing to investigate the attempted assassination of Shokin.
[19]
Through 2015 and early 2016, domestic and international pressure (including from the
IMF, the
EU, and the
EBRD) built for Shokin to be removed from office. The
Obama administration withheld $1 billion in loan guarantees to pressure the Ukrainian government to remove Shokin from office.
[20][21][22]Viktor Shokin - Wikipedia His defenders nonetheless argued that he played an important role "balancing competing political interests".[24] His Deputy Prosecutor, Vitaly Kasko, announced his resignation on 15 February 2016 denouncing the corruption and lawlessness of the Prosecutor's office.[25]
On 16 February 2016, Shokin submitted a letter of resignation,[26] although the next day an official of the prosecution office stated, "As far as I know he has taken a paid leave".[27] On 19 February 2016 presidential press secretary Sviatoslav Tsegolko wrote on Twitter that the presidential administration had received an official letter of resignation from Shokin.[28]
On 16 March 2016 an official of the prosecution office stated that Shokin had resumed his work.[4] On the same day, his office carried out a raid against one of Ukraine's leading anti-corruption groups, the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), claiming that it had misappropriated aid money.[17] AntAC was a frequent critic of the Prosecutor General's Office under Shokin.[29] In one notorious case, two of Shokin's prosecutors were caught with stashes of diamonds, cash and valuables in their homes, likely indicating bribery. Prosecutors from another department of Shokin's office were fired or reassigned when they attempted to bring a prosecution against the so-called "diamond prosecutors".[30]
On 28 March, protesters called for Shokin's firing, after his office was authorized by a Kiev court to investigate AntAC.[17][31] Shokin was formally dismissed in a parliamentary vote on 29 March 2016
