Changes in the anti-corruption sphere
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed bill No. 12414, which provides for amendments to the operations of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. This law is now Law No. 4555-IX.
The Verkhovna Rada adopted this bill with 263 votes from people's deputies in the second reading. The initiative for the reform was supported by Maksym Pavliuk, Vyacheslav Medianik, Oleksandr Bakumov, and Serhiy Min'ko.
According to the innovations, the General Prosecutor will receive additional powers, in particular, the ability to demand cases from NABU and transfer them for further investigation to other bodies. This may threaten the independence of NABU and SAP.
Representatives of NABU and SAP expressed their dissatisfaction with these changes, considering them destructive for Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure. NABU director Artem Sytnyk noted that these changes could undermine the fight against corruption and destroy the achievements gained over the past years.
The director of SAP NABU Nazar Kryvonoс called on the president not to sign this document, claiming that the changes could lead to the collapse of the anti-corruption infrastructure.
The signed bill will be an important step in the development of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies but has sparked discontent from NABU and SAP due to fears of potential loss of their independence and achievements in the fight against corruption. The conflict between the authorities and the anti-corruption agencies may affect the further development of the situation in the country.