Prosecutor general accessed no cases while law limiting anti-corruption agency independence was in effect, its chief says

Olga Katsimon - 3 August, 14:36

Semen Kryvonos. Screenshot

Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), has said that the prosecutor general did not exercise the right to access NABU case files while law No. 12414, which temporarily restricted the independence of NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), was in force.

Source: Kryvonos in an interview with BBC News Ukrainian

Details: Kryvonos said that the law allowed the prosecutor general to request cases, review materials and access data from covert investigative actions, particularly information about whistleblowers and bugging.

Quote: "This was a huge risk. I emphasise that he [the prosecutor general – ed.] did not exercise this right while the law was in effect. It did not happen. We know for sure that whistleblowers were extremely anxious about this. Indeed, there were problems regarding cooperation with whistleblowers. It was an absolute disaster. But now we have reassured them because everything has returned to normal. The prosecutor general did not take a single case, and he has publicly confirmed this. He did not access any case. The public can be assured of this."

Background:

The appointment of Ruslan Kravchenko as Ukraine’s prosecutor general coincided with the emergence of the controversial draft law No. 12414, which made NABU and SAPO dependent on the decisions of the prosecutor general.
On 22 July, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) voted in favour of draft law No. 12414.
The heads of NABU and SAPO urged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to sign draft law No. 12414, saying it would effectively destroy the independence of these institutions. However, Zelenskyy signed it into law on the evening of 22 July.
Protests were held in many cities across Ukraine after the law was passed.
On 31 July, the Verkhovna Rada approved bill No. 13533, aimed at restoring the independence of NABU and SAPO. Shortly afterwards, the document was signed by Zelenskyy.

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