Corruption scandal: DeJure Foundation accused of lack of reports on use of UAH 108 million of donor funds – media

The DeJure Foundation, a non-governmental organization headed by Mykhailo Zhernakov, received more than UAH 108 million from donors in 2021–2024 (more than USD 3 million, taking into account the exchange rate in different years). At the same time, detailed financial reports from the foundation, which positions itself as one of the main players in the field of judicial reform, are not publicly available. Information that DeJure does not publish either expense items or contracts with contractors was published by the Informator publication.

"Despite its large-scale activities, DeJure has the status of a non-profit organization and reports according to a simplified procedure usually used for micro-enterprises. Such an approach contradicts the principles of transparency and may violate Ukrainian legislation, as it makes it impossible to conduct an independent audit of the use of hundreds of millions of hryvnias," notes Informator.

According to the published information, a significant part of the funds could have come to DeJure from foreign donors or interested parties, whose influence on the Ukrainian judicial system could be destructive.

The Informator recalled that the name of the head of the foundation, Mykhailo Zhernakov, has repeatedly appeared in public scandals. He was criticized for supporting candidates with dubious academic degrees to the HQCJ and for attempts to evade mobilization.

Initially, Zhernakov referred to a diagnosis of "flatfoot", but this diagnosis was not confirmed by the military medical commission. Later, he was booked as a lecturer at a private university – the Kyiv School of Economics. However, according to journalists, his teaching activities were fictitious, and he did not appear at the university.

According to the information available to the Informator, Zhernakov also spent donor funds to "cheat" likes and comments on social networks under his posts. His posts on Facebook were actively supported by accounts owned by models from the Onlyfans platform, where girls earn money for posting erotic photos.

In addition, the head of DeJure freely travels abroad and travels around Europe. He was spotted at one of the events together with the scandalous member of the Public Integrity Council, Martyna Bohuslavets, who, according to media reports, earned 2 apartments from the "fight against corruption" without having the corresponding official income.

Given DeJure's active participation in the formation of judicial governance bodies and the implementation of judicial reform, the lack of transparency in finances and the scandals surrounding the leader of the organization are of serious concern.

The organization has not yet publicly commented on these allegations.