Lutsenko is satisfied with the work of the Transcarpathian prosecutor’s office. Well, almost…

Visiting Transcarpathia for the first time as the Prosecutor General in July 2016, Yuriy Lutsenko set before the local law enforcement officers the task to "catch big fish" and promised to check the results the next September.

Late for more than a year, today, in the capital of Transcarpathia, Lutsenko said that he sees the results of the work of the regional prosecutor’s office. Those are anti-corruption cases (arrests of officials and even judges for bribery), and a significant improvement in the situation with illegal logging. At least, the Prosecutor General says that he sees that.

"There are serious criminal proceedings, in particular, on drug trafficking with international ties. I believe that the Transcarpathian Prosecutor’s Office is working in a steady manner. As for the forest. I see a significant drop in illegal logging, as well as the export of wood abroad. At the same time, the processing of wood in the country is growing," – Lutsenko says. The Prosecutor General noted that "the Prosecutor General’s Office is working systematically" and also said that a criminal proceeding had been initiated against the Chief of the Forestry and Hunting Range Administration in Chernivtsi region. And at the meeting with regional prosecutors before the briefing, he reproached local law enforcement officers for the fact that criminal cases regarding illegal logging in Transcarpathian region are opened by Kyiv prosecutors rather than local ones.

According to Lutsenko, in general, in Ukraine "7 thousand cases of bribe taking have been registered during the year, 4200 of which are pending in courts, and only on dozens of them decisions on conviction with real sanctions have been made". The Prosecutor General said that apparently hinting that, the results of the work of the prosecutor’s office ultimately depend on the judicial branch…