Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions urge Zelenskyy to veto law threatening their independence

The heads of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have urged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to sign a draft law that would effectively destroy these institutions’ independence.

Source: a briefing by NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and SAPO Head Oleksandr Klymenko in Kyiv

Quote from Kryvonos: "Now the anti-corruption infrastructure – forged in response to the Euromaidan [protests], in response to society, in response to the urgent need to tackle high-level corruption – has been effectively shattered. Today it lies in ruins, undermined even by those suspected by the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office."

Details: Kryvonos underlined that NABU and SAPO are "categorically opposed to this".

"Now [there is still time to stop it – ed.], there is still the president’s signature [to enact the decision – ed.]. We beseech him not to sign this bill and to return it with a decisive veto," Kryvonos added. 

He warned that adopting this measure would also jeopardise Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic ambitions.

"We yearn to see Ukraine radiant; we want a strong and robust anti-corruption framework, because Ukrainian society deserves nothing less," Kryvonos concluded.

Background:

• On 21 July, employees of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office conducted approximately 80 searches targeting 19 NABU employees across various regions, reportedly without court warrants.
• The NABU detectives have been charged with treason, illegal trade with Russia, and corruption in the interests of oligarchs. Meanwhile, the State Bureau of Investigations has stepped up its efforts looking into materials on road accidents involving NABU employees that occurred several years ago.
• Representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General have also launched an inspection into SAPO’s handling of state secrets.
• It comes as the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) is set to debate a draft law that NABU and SAPO believe will effectively destroy the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions.
• The G7 ambassadors have expressed concern over the SSU’s actions against NABU.

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