Iryna Valentynivna Venediktova (; born 21 September 1978) is a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, lawyer, Doctor of Juridical Science, and professor. Since November 2022, she is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein. During her career she also served as the first female Prosecutor General in the history of Ukraine, and as Director of the State Bureau of Investigation ad interim. She was a Member of Parliament for the Servant of the People party of the 9th convocation, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy.
Biography Iryna Valentynivna Venediktova was born on 21 September 1978 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR in a family of lawyers. Her father, Valentyn Semenovych Venediktov, was a major general of the police, Doctor of Juridical Science, professor, an honoured lawyer, a corresponding member of the Engineering Academy, and former vice-rector of the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs. Her mother, Valentyna Mykhailivna Venediktova, has a PhD in Law, and worked at both the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs in the Faculty of Management and Informatics, specialising in "Law and Management".
She is married, and has two children.
Education and academic career From 2000 to 2004, Venediktova worked as a lecturer in the Department of Law at the Kharkiv Humanitarian Institute of the People's Ukrainian Academy. In 2003, she defended her PhD thesis at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University on the topic Agreement on trust management of property as a form of implementation of the legal institution of trust management of property in Ukraine, receiving a PhD in Law.
In 2004, she became an associate professor in the Department of Justice at VN Karazin Kharkiv National University. From 2005 to 2019, she headed the Department of Civil Law at the same university. In 2013, she defended her doctoral thesis at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv on the topic Protection of interests guaranteed by law in civil law. In 2014, she received the academic rank of professor in the Department of Civil Law at the VN Karazin Kharkiv National University.
Venediktova supervised one doctoral thesis and ten PhD theses in law. She is the author of more than 100 scientific and methodological publications, including eight monographs, 80 scientific publications and four scientific-methodological works.
Alongside her academic work, Venediktova held several professional and research-related positions. From 2010 to 2019, she was a member of the Foundation of Medical Law and Bioethics of Ukraine. From 2012 to 2015, she worked as a leading researcher at the Research Institute of Legal Support of Innovative Development of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine. From 2016 to 2019, she served as an arbitrator of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. During the same period, she was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
Political activity In 2018, she became an advisor to Volodymyr Zelenskyy on legal issues. In the election headquarters of then-presidential candidate Zelenskyy was an expert on the reform of the judicial system.
In the parliamentary elections of 2019, she was included in the list of political party "Servant of the People" number 3 in the list.
On 21 July 2019, she was elected to the Verkhovna Rada as a Member of Parliament for the Servant of the People party of the IX convocation. On 29 August 2019, she took the oath to function as MP, ending her term on 14 January 2020.
Venediktova became the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy from 29 August 2019 to 27 December 2019. The Verkhovna Rada Committee in which she was the head of was the main committee in the adoption of the law "On Amendments to Article 80 of the Constitution of Ukraine (regarding the immunity of MPs of Ukraine)".
Director of the State Bureau of Investigation On 27 December 2019, by the Decree of the President of Ukraine (No. 961/2019), Venediktova was appointed Director of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) ad interim. Venediktova became the first woman in the history of Ukraine which was the head of the state law enforcement agency. In a fairly short period of leadership, until 17 March 2020, she managed to introduce a new organisational structure of the SBI.
A separate investigative unit was created in the criminal proceedings of the Maidan case. A system of monthly reports of the SBI to the public and foreign partners on the results of the law enforcement agency and separately on Maidan cases was introduced.
On 13 March 2020, Venediktova was appointed a member of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.
Prosecutor General On 17 March 2020, Venediktova was appointed Prosecutor General (Decree of the President of Ukraine from 17.03.2020 No. 90/2020). Her candidacy was supported by 269 MPs. She became the first female Prosecutor General in the history of Ukraine, and was in office from 17 March 2020 to 17 July 2022.
Reform Under the leadership of Venediktova, the reform of the prosecutor’s office was completed, as enshrined by the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine regarding priority measures for the Reform of the Prosecutor’s Office" (dated 19.09.2019). For the first time in the history the Reform provided certification of prosecutors at all three levels of the prosecutor's office. After the cleansing of the system almost 35% of prosecutors left prosecutor’s office. In September 2020, regional prosecutor’s offices were created to replace the county ones, and in March 2021 district prosecutor’s offices were created instead of local prosecutor’s offices. Within the framework of the reform, the National Academy of the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine was liquidated and a modern training centre for prosecutors of Ukraine was created.
The self-governing bodies of the prosecutor’s office were revived, which are the basis of the prosecutor’s independence that are: The Council of prosecutors of Ukraine and the relevant body carrying out disciplinary proceedings.
In 2021, for the first time in the history of the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office, the Strategy for the Development of the Prosecutor’s Office for 2021-2023 was created.
The results of the reform were highly appreciated by the G7 Ambassadors and the international community, in particular during Anti-Corruption Forum "International Forum on Kleptocracy and Illicit Financial Flows" in 2021.
Coordination and internal transformations of the prosecutor's office As Prosecutor General, Venediktova resumed the coordinating role of the prosecutor’s office.
On 4 June 2020, for the first time in 10 years under the chairmanship of Venediktova, the coordination meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies on prevention of torture was held at the Office of the Prosecutor General.
On 1 June 2021, for the first time in 30 years, a coordination meeting was held on crimes committed by children and against children.
Within the structure of the institution, the Department of Criminal Law Policy and Investment Protection, the specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, a new specialised unit – the Department of Human Rights Protection in the Law enforcement and Penitentiary spheres were created. The specialisation of prosecutors in the field of cybersecurity, combating domestic violence, etc. has also developed.
Venediktova actively implemented digitalisation of processes: Electronic criminal proceedings, the Paperless system. On the web portal of the office started working interactive map "Statistics of criminal wrongfulness".
Particular attention was paid to working with the public sector through sectoral platforms. Also, on the initiative of the Prosecutor General, platforms for combating crimes against journalists were created – in the office of the Prosecutor General and regional prosecutor's offices separate responsible for this direction were appointed.
During the cadence of Venediktova, a museum of the prosecutor’s office and a children’s room were created within the walls of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
High-profile cases Venediktova took personal control of high-profile criminal proceedings, which are under the close attention of the public, including the cases of journalists and activists.
On 12 February 2021, on behalf of Venediktova, prosecutors first reported case in which it was criminally charged MP of Ukraine for "button-pressing". In general, during the cadence of the Prosecutor General, criminal charges was filed to 10 MPs: cases verified from hooliganism to treason.
On 11 May 2021, Prosecutor General Venediktova criminally charged on a case of treason and violation of the laws and customs of war (attempt to loot national resources in the Ukrainian Crimea) two MPs of the Ukrainian Parliament: Viktor Medvedchuk and Taras Kozak. In June 2022, the case against Viktor Medvechuk was filed to court.
In early October 2021, Venediktova criminally charged MP of Ukraine Viktor Medvedchuk on a case of treason and facilitating to terrorist organisations, namely, by implementation of a criminal scheme for the supply of coal products from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the period late 2014 – early 2015.
Medvedchuk was criminally charged for the third time by the Prosecutor General in July 2022 for the organisation of the scheme of illegal flights between the Russian Federation and the occupied Crimea outside the Ukrainian state border crossing points. According to investigators, in 2015, the MP repeatedly flew to Russian Federation by plane, and from there to the Crimea – by helicopter.
Maidan cases During the work of Venediktova as Prosecutor General, the results of the investigation of crimes related to mass protests in 2013-2014 improved. This process was also influenced by the adoption by the Parliament in May 2021 of the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine regarding the improvement of certain provisions in connection with the implementation of a special pre-trial investigation", which unblocked the usage of "in absentia" procedures in regard to fugitives.
In November 2021, an 8-year investigation into the Maidan’s "maternal case" against 10 top officials led by ex-President Yanukovych, who are suspected of organising crimes in the bloodiest days of the Revolution of Dignity, was completed.
Also, 2021 was a breakthrough in regard to verdicts in the Maidan cases. The courts have issued the same number of verdicts as in the previous 3 years combined.
Handziuk case In 2020, the investigation was completed and the case on the assault on activist Kateryna Handziuk was filed to court. Head of the council for Kherson Oblast and assistant of deputy of this regional council were accused of organising and ordering this assault and now both have been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Also, five direct perpetrators of the assault on Kateryna and the person who committed the concealment of this crime were punished.
In general, during the investigation of the assault on Kateryna Handziuk and related crimes, 18 persons were suspected. 9 criminal proceedings were filed to the court, most of which were reviewed by the courts with convicting verdicts.
PrivatBank case On 22 February 2021 and 15 March 2021, the Prosecutor General approved criminal charges to five former top managers of PJSC CB PrivatBank: Chairman of the Board; First Deputy Chairman of the Board; Deputy Chairman of the Board – Head of the Treasury; Head of interbank operations department and Head of financial management department on a case of embezzlement of more than 8.3 billion UA hryvnas funds of the bank.
International cooperation