Gangly, tall and bespectacled, Leshchenko is a common sight in parliament and major political events, pestering power brokers for comments and demanding answers. He is an intrepid investigator who has picked up many scoops over the years and dug deeply to uncover connections between corrupt schemes and powerful individuals.
He is the man behind most investigations that allowed us to see through the opaque ownership structure of Mezhyhirya, the president’s vast estate that has become a symbol of corruption in this era of Ukraine. Other investigations include crooked public procurement schemes worth millions of dollars during the nation‘s construction spree to co-host the 2012 European soccer championship. Most recently, he documented the lavish cars owned by many of the nation’s lawmakers.
This week Leshchenko has not one, but two major achievements of which to boast. Apart from the press freedom award, which he received on June 20, he is officially presenting a book on June 21.
The American Saga of Pavlo Lazarenko is the story of Ukraine’s former criminal prime minister who ended up in an American prison.
Leshchenko’s investigation is based on Lazarenko’s case documents, which one can find in the District Court of the Northern District of California, headquartered in San Francisco. According to Leshchenko, he had spent three weeks studying them.
He hopes the book will be an example of the reversibility of justice for corrupt officials in a democratic country.
“Secondly, this is a personal human tragedy, when from the top of fame, political power and multimillion dollar wealth you are falling down into the abyss of prison,” Leshchenko wrote in the foreword to his investigation, first published on the Ukrainska Pravda website in autumn 2012.
It is because of people like Leshchenko, the selfless and fearless investigators of people in power, that the public is able to know who they elect and how they use the authority bestowed upon them. Most often, journalists receive curses in return, not credit or prosecutorial justice. This is why we are using the opportunity to commend him and his work.
Go, Serhiy! Congratulations and many years of fruitful work to come.
