The Ukrainian parliament approves a controversial resolution aimed at tightens oversight of anti-corruption agencies!
Ukrainian lawmakers have decided to tighten restrictions on two key anti-corruption agencies, raising concerns about the country’s pledges to eradicate corruption.
In the 450-seat parliament, 263 deputies voted in favor of the law restricting the independence of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
The law, proposed by the Servants of the People party led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, makes the prosecutor general the de facto head of the State Security Service, removing authority from the agency’s head.
The law also allows the Attorney General to unilaterally close cases involving high-ranking officials and gives him the right to transfer cases investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau to other agencies.
“With this decision, Parliament not only deprives society of one of its greatest achievements since the Revolution of Dignity—independent anti-corruption institutions—but also undermines the trust of Ukraine’s international partners,” Transparency International Ukraine said in a statement after the vote.
The only way to repair the damage is for the president to veto the law. Otherwise, President Volodymyr Zelensky will share responsibility for the destruction of Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure with Parliament.
These legal challenges come as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) faces other challenges.
On July 21, the Internal Security Service (SBU) arrested two of its officials—one on charges of spying for Russia and the other on suspicion of having business ties to Russian entities—and authorities conducted raids targeting NABU employees.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) alleged that some officials had ties to banned political groups, including the former party of a fugitive Ukrainian MP.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Agency, which led the high-profile investigation, said the SBU operation went beyond legitimate security concerns, including unrelated matters such as traffic violations committed years ago.
Transparency International described the raids as an example of “massive pressure” on Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions.
The G7 ambassadors to Kyiv, who met with leaders of the National Union of Ukrainian Accountants immediately after the event, issued a statement expressing serious concerns and saying they would raise the issue directly with government leaders.
Recent moves have revived broader concerns that Ukraine’s deep-rooted corruption problems are not being addressed, while efforts to promote accountability and transparency face opposition.
The decision was met with strong opposition from the Ukrainian public, despite the wartime conditions, numerous Ukrainian cities, most notably the capital, Kyiv, are witnessing large demonstrations against the new law, which they believe will further spread corruption in the country without any oversight or punishment of the corrupt individuals who control the country’s authorities.
This law will also create an embarrassing situation for Western countries that support Kiev in its ongoing war with Russia, and which claim that Ukraine has a democratic and anti-corruption system, an approach that is in line with “Western values!”
