Ukraine: The Criminal Paper Trail

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When Viktor Yanukovych jumped into a helicopter and flew into hiding, the Kiev protest movement that had opposed him flung open the gate of his abandoned estate. Ordinary Ukrainians poured in to visit the 140-hectare grounds and to catch a first glimpse of the luxurious lifestyle their former president had enjoyed at his country's expense. Many gawped at the extraordinary opulence - from the gold fittings to the marble floors and the private zoo. But a group of journalists were more excited by a different kind of treasure floating in the nearby lake. Thousands of documents had been dumped in the water by henchmen when their boss fled. The papers contained proof – not just of Yanukovych's wildly extravagant tastes – but also of systematic bribery, corruption, nepotism and state sponsored violence. Investigative reporters immediately realised these waterlogged documents could provide crucial evidence for future criminal proceedings. Anxious to preserve them, they worked around the clock for six days and nights painstakingly drying and sorting each sheet of paper. As time went by more incriminating papers were found in other places ranging from the sauna of the former chief Prosecutor to rubbish bins in an underground car park in Kiev's city centre. Lucy Ash talks to the journalists on the paper trail and asks why divers, archivists, lawyers, accountants and so many ordinary volunteers are eager to help them. Disgust with pervasive corruption was perhaps the most important factor in the uprising on Maidan but with an increasingly bellicose Russia on its doorstep will Ukraine's new leaders be able to build a more transparent and fairer society? (Image: Documents pulled out of the lake at Mezhyhirya. Credit Mustafa Nayyem)