Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2026-2030
A draft of Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2026-2030 outlines significant reforms to the nation's electronic asset declaration and financial control systems. This initiative is part of a broader, ongoing effort to strengthen governance and meet international standards. The project's key focus areas include:
- Revising the list of individuals required to file declarations;
- Enhancing interoperability between government registries;
- Automating the process of filling out declarations;
- Improving the risk-based methodology for selecting audits.
Current Challenges and Proposed Reforms
This year marks a decade since the launch of Ukraine's electronic asset declaration system, which has become a crucial tool in the fight against corruption. However, as noted by Yuliia Kulikova, Head of the Full Audits Department at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK), significant challenges remain:
'Financial control measures are not applied to all individuals whose activities are associated with high corruption risks.'
— Yuliia Kulikova
This gap highlights the urgent need to amend current legislation. The planned changes specifically aim to address this by:
- Expanding the roster of declaration subjects;
- Boosting data-sharing between the Declaration Registry and other state databases;
- Further automating declaration procedures;
- Refining the risk-oriented approach for selecting declarations for full verification.
A central proposal is to add new categories of officials to the declaration list. This would include executives of companies where the state holds a majority stake of over 50%, as well as certain staff in patronage services, such as advisors and assistants to individuals in political offices.
Yuliia Kulikova also emphasized the importance of establishing legal liability for these individuals concerning illicit enrichment and the acquisition of unjustified assets. These reforms are designed to increase the effectiveness of the financial control system and reduce corruption risks in Ukraine.
The proposed amendments within the Anti-Corruption Strategy reflect a growing imperative to bolster financial oversight mechanisms in Ukraine. Enhancing transparency and bringing new categories of officials into the declaration system could significantly mitigate the corruption risks that persist in the country's political and economic spheres. Implementing these initiatives will require concerted effort from state bodies and sustained support from civil society to ensure the new norms and rules are effectively enforced.