RFE/RL Ukrainian Service Reporter Michael Tkach was awarded the Triumph Award in the category “Best Reporter of 2016.”
Tkach was recognized for his work on the joint RFE/RL Ukrainian Service and Ukrainian UA First Channel program Schemes: Corruption In Details, which works to uncover corruption and shady dealings among Ukrainian politicians. Some of the work that propelled Tkach and Schemes to this award includes uncovering Spanish villas owned by President Poroshenko and Ukrainian money laundering in the UK.
The Triumph Award was established in 2000 and is focused on promoting high standards of domestic television broadcasting in Ukraine.
The author and host of Schemes, Natalie Sedletska, was recently named on the list of 30 young leaders of Ukraine under 30 by the Kyiv Post. This award came on the heels of Sedletska’s acceptance of the Alexander Krivenka award in Lviv for progress in journalism, which she was honored with in May 2016.
Many recent episodes of Schemes have looked into the 2016 asset declarations required of officials, an attempt to further accountability within the Ukrainian government. The program has been one of the Ukrainian Service's most popular and internationally acclaimed programs.