Ukraine has voted to strip the anti-graft bodies of their independence from executive power on Tuesday, potentially marking a major blow to the country’s anti-corruption progress.
On Tuesday, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for Bill No. 12414 which, through a series of amendments, effectively abolishes the independence of anti-corruption law enforcement bodies in conducting investigations – namely, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
Opposition started to cry “Hanba” (Shame!) during the voting.
The bill got 263 votes.
The clause to strip the anti-graft agencies of their independence was included in a seemingly unrelated bill.
Formally, the bill was aimed at improving the search for missing persons and was titled “Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Regarding the Peculiarities of Pre-Trial Investigation of Criminal Offenses Related to the Disappearance of Persons Under Special Circumstances During Martial Law,” but it included clauses related to the power structure of anti-corruption bodies:
- The Prosecutor General gains access to all NABU cases or can grant such access to any other prosecutor
- Has the right to issue mandatory written instructions to NABU detectives and, in case of non-compliance, can change jurisdiction by transferring the case to other agencies
- Can close investigations at the request of the defense party
In effect, this will mean that investigations and all procedures previously conducted by the new anti-corruption agencies, which were independent, will now be under the control of the Prosecutor General’s Office, which is within the president’s purview.
“In fact, if this bill is adopted, the head of SAPO becomes a nominal figure, and NABU loses its independence and turns into a unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The anti-corruption infrastructure of Ukraine, built since 2015 together with international partners, will be destroyed,” states NABU’s press service.
A number of lawmakers resisted.
“I demand that this bill be put to a vote for exclusion! No one listens to me!... Now anything can be pushed through the parliament. Through shady bills,” writes Oleksiy Honcharenko, a member of parliament from the “European Solidarity” party, on his Telegram channel.
At the final votes, two opposition parties, HOLOS and European Solidarity, blocked the podium and the meeting in an attempt to prevent the voting.
The bill awaits the president’s signature to become law.
Why is it a big deal for Ukraine?
The vote marks the climax of a weeks-long standoff between law enforcement agencies, with critics suspecting the move to be a retaliation for NABU’s case against former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov.
On Monday, Ukraine saw a wave of searches by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) targeting NABU detectives, while the State Bureau of Investigation (DBU) simultaneously issued suspicion notices to several NABU officers over cases dating back several years.
In a public statement, NABU said that at least 70 searches were conducted, targeting 15 of its employees.
The SBU, in coordination with the Prosecutor General’s Office, has accused senior NABU official Ruslan Mahamedrasulov of engaging in business activities in Russia and maintaining ties with a former lawmaker alleged to be working for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
Following the searches, NABU acknowledged infiltration risks but expressed concern that many of the raids were conducted without proper court warrants and alleged that force was used against at least one detective, despite no resistance.
The bureau also criticized what it described as an unplanned inspection of its handling of classified information. According to NABU, the SBU now has access to sensitive internal documents, including information about ongoing operations conducted by NABU and SAPO. The agency warned that this could jeopardize active investigations.
A few weeks prior, NABU issued a suspicion notice to Chernyshov for fraud, potentially costing billions of hryvnias – tens of millions of dollars – in state losses.
Lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko, writing on Facebook, said the charges against NABU staff appeared only after the charges were laid against Chernyshov, suggesting the raids were a retaliation against NABU over the Chernyshov case.
“Could NABU staff have collaborated with Russia? Possibly. But the SBU’s interest in NABU only emerged after the Chernyshov case. Remember when the former Unity Minister didn’t want to return to Ukraine?” Honcharenko wrote.
The “Group of Seven” (G7) Ambassadors for reform in Ukraine have issued a public statement expressing “serious concerns” over the raids on Monday.
“The G7 is closely following today’s developments at NABU, particularly the investigation into several NABU employees suspected of crimes. We met with NABU today, we have serious concerns and intend to discuss these developments with government leadership,” the statement says.