Ukrainian government planned to unexpectedly announce audit of National Anti-Corruption Bureau – source

In mid-March, the Cabinet of Ministers had planned to initiate an independent audit of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), but the draft resolution was never brought up for consideration.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article (English translation coming soon)

Quote: "Alongside attempts to save the sinking ship called the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), there have been ambiguous moves around NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), which can also be seen as an attempt to show MPs that 'work' is being done on their greatest fear."

Details: Ukrainska Pravda sources within NABU said that in mid-March Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, unexpectedly initiated a draft resolution to establish a commission to conduct an independent audit of the NABU. This is significant because a negative audit conclusion can serve as grounds for dismissing the NABU director.

"There was an audit last year. Experts provided recommendations to improve our work, and we began implementing them. The draft resolution Kachka wanted to submit came as a big surprise to us. In the end, it all came to nothing – the government never considered the document, but it is unclear what will happen next," one UP source in the NABU said, not hiding their confusion.

In addition, internal media monitoring by anti-corruption bodies indicates that waves of discreditation campaigns targeting the leadership of NABU and SAPO have intensified online, apparently moderated by pro-government forces.

"Since mid-January, Telegram channels have been flooded with posts calling the NABU director and detectives 'idiots', alleging that someone has problems with asset declarations or has illicitly enriched themselves. Around the same time, a social media campaign began claiming that anti-corruption bodies are too dependent on the Americans," a source in the NABU told Ukrainska Pravda.

Meanwhile, government representatives have reportedly been telling foreign partners that, "because of suspicions raised by NABU and SAPO", MPs are reluctant to pass legislation related to EU integration, commitments to the IMF, and the Ukraine Facility, the article says.

For now, this does not appear to be a systematic and coordinated attack on anti-corruption institutions. However, journalists conclude that it is clearly keeping NABU and SAPO staff in a state of "toxic tension".

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