A $200,000 bribe as a signal for overhauling the legal profession

On Tuesday, June 4th, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) caught the attorney Oleksiy Nosov offering a $200,000 bribe. According to the investigation, Nosov allegedly offered this amount to transfer his client’s case from NABU to the National Police.

The case involves the embezzlement of electricity from “Ukrenergo,” resulting in losses of 716 million hryvnias. Nosov represents Yulia Frolova, the chair of the board of Alliance Bank, who is currently wanted by authorities.

Today, June 6th, the suspected lawyer was given a pretrial restraint in the form of a 12 million hryvnia bail. This decision was made by Lesya Fedorak, an investigative judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). Additionally, the court ordered Oleksiy Nosov to surrender his passports, remain in Kyiv, and wear an electronic bracelet.

This incident highlights the prevalence of corruption within the justice system, including the legal profession. Unfortunately, there is a segment of lawyers who, instead of defending their clients within the bounds of the law, engage in “mediating” bribes to investigators, prosecutors, and judges. This underscores the importance of integrity as an essential component of an attorney’s professionalism.

Meanwhile, the governing bodies of the Bar, led by Lidiya Izovitova and Valentyn Hvozdiy, have yet to develop mechanisms for verifying lawyers’ integrity and seem uninterested in addressing this issue. Instead, they label criminal proceedings against corrupt lawyers as persecution, oppose mandatory income declarations for members of the legal profession, and claim this constitutes pressure on lawyers, a violation of the Constitution, and a waste of time and resources. Attorneys involved in corruption schemes are rarely held disciplinarily accountable, in contrast to those who criticize the leaders of the legal profession.

The Bar leadership emphasise self-regulation and autonomy from state influence. However, it appears that state intervention, specifically the Bar reform, is critically necessary. The European Commission and the G7 Ambassadors have previously stressed the importance of reform to address issues of governance, accountability, transparency, corruption, and the misuse of disciplinary proceedings to pressure lawyers.