Head of Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office: Ten Toxic Prosecutors to Step Down from Office

The head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, Veronica Dragalin, believes that even having employed the most honest prosecutors, their insufficient number will affect the agency’s ability to achieve results in fighting corruption. She also stressed that if the law allows her to clean up the subordinate authority; she already has a list of about 10 prosecutors to resign, that is, 20% of the total staff. Veronica Dragalin believes that they are the most toxic and negatively impact by sabotaging the cases in the pipeline, as well as creating an atmosphere of distrust in the team. “If you look at the number of officers who have passed the preliminary check, it will be 10 prosecutors in the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office. We will have no progress with this number of prosecutors, even if they are the most honest globally. This situation is abnormal, we must have a sufficient number of prosecutors. The justice system needs to be cleaned up. If tomorrow the law allows me to clean up my department, I already know what to do. I am pretty sure I know who needs to leave the prosecutor’s office. About 10 prosecutors have to leave. This will be 20% of all employees. I mean the most toxic people,” Veronica Dragalin said. Veronica Dragalin also noted that the challenge includes not only prosecutors, but also the National Anticorruption Center (CNA). She noted that the CAN officers do not undergo preliminary checks, and leaks are not always due to the prosecutors’ fault. The Head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office stressed the need for careful monitoring of activities by these people, as well as the fact that the management of high-profile cases is a serious problem, since it is not always possible to avoid sending these cases to toxic prosecutors due to heavy workload. “Their activities should be monitored very carefully. We have deputies responsible for the prosecutor’s office, and they are much more attentive to all decisions made. We try not to send high-profile cases to them, but it is not easy. We have a very large workload. If we have people who receive a salary, it is impossible not to share work with them, because they have to work. We are trying to manage by monitoring, but this reduces our performance. Instead of focusing on other things, my deputy and I have to be much more attentive,” Veronica Dragalin said.