Odessa prosecutor-raider Evgeniy Antoshchuk became a lawyer

Odessa prosecutor Evgeniy Antoshchuk decided to become a lawyer. And although the Supreme Court verdict directly prohibits such actions, this did not stop Antoshchuk, who is not the first to violate the rules of law.

Thus, according to the decision of the Supreme Court of February 10, 2021, prosecutors and judges are prohibited from becoming lawyers. That is, persons holding the position of prosecutors not only cannot obtain a lawyer's certificate, they also do not have the right to undergo legal training and cannot be allowed to take exams.

According to the court decision, the requirements for the incompatibility of work in the prosecutor's office with other types of activities are provided for in Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Prosecutor's Office”. Within the meaning of this article, holding the position of a prosecutor is incompatible with holding a position in any government body, other state body, local government body and with a representative mandate in state elective positions. The prosecutor is subject to restrictions regarding part-time work and combination with other types of activities, determined by the Law of Ukraine “On the principles of preventing and combating corruption.” Consequently, a person holding the position of prosecutor cannot engage in advocacy or perform other paid work (clause 1 of part one of Article 25 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Prevention of Corruption”).

However, for Mr. Antoshchuk “the laws are not written.” And despite the direct ban on prosecutors being lawyers, he did it. According to the register of the Bar Council of the Odessa Region, on May 22, 2024, Evgeniy Nikolaevich Antoshchuk received the right to practice law.

It is still unknown how Antoshchuk managed to “get around” the law, but this incident is far from the first in the lawyer’s “career”. So, just a week ago, a number of Ukrainian media wrote about another story related to Antoshchuk. It became known that Odessa prosecutor Evgeniy Antoshchuk is fabricating a case about twelve real estate properties.

On November 13, 2023, the prosecutor of the department of the Odessa Regional Prosecutor's Office Evgeniy Nikolaevich Antoshchuk, in a fabricated case, filed a petition to seize property with a ban on possession, use and disposal. However, having received a decree from the Primorsky District Court of Odessa on the seizure, Antoshchuk does not implement it.

The criminal negligence of the prosecutor, who deliberately did not enter information into the Unified State Register of Real Estate in accordance with the court decision to seize real estate, led to the fact that 12 properties were simply “raided”.

The owner of the property, when he learned of the existence of the above resolution, filed a petition to cancel the seizure of property to the Primorsky District Court of Odessa and received a resolution dated May 31, 2024, by which the seizure of twelve real estate objects was canceled as unlawful. In this ruling, the court cites the legality of the acquisition of property, and numerous court decisions (which the parties received over the course of 5 years) as evidence of the bona fide acquisition of property rights.

The investigation is being conducted by the Investigative Directorate of the GUNP in the Odessa region, that is, all investigative actions must be carried out in the Primorsky District Court of the city of Odessa, as was the case before the above-mentioned decision to cancel the seizure of property. Realizing that the Primorsky District Court of Odessa will refuse to conduct searches, the prosecutor of the Odessa Regional Prosecutor's Office Antoshchuk submits a petition to conduct searches to the Suvorovsky District Court of Odessa, which grants such permission. Therefore, on June 11, 2024, searches were carried out at twelve properties.

According to journalists, Evgeny Antoshchuk’s patron is the deputy head of the Odessa Regional Prosecutor’s Office Alexey Tarasovich Fedyuk. All actions take place under his “roof” and strict control. The latter is known for the fact that he is also the “curator” of the local police.

Therefore, as we see, prosecutor Evgeniy Antoshchuk uses all possible methods to alienate real estate from its rightful owner. And this is far from the first, nor, in fact, the last incident in the career of the prosecutor, and now lawyer Evgeniy Antoshchuk.

We hope that media attention will force law enforcement agencies to investigate the activities of Mr. Antoshchuk. Indeed, in this case, the person who should defend the norms of the law systematically violates them.