NABU and SAPO restrictions and protests in Ukraine: how world leaders and international organizations react

On July 22, the Ukrainian Parliament passed and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Law No. 12414, which amends the Criminal Code and restricts the work of NABU and SAPO. International partners and leaders of countries, as well as influential organizations, are reacting to this situation.

The G7 ambassadors in Kyiv, in a joint statement dated July 22, noted that the Group of Seven is “closely monitoring” the situation, has “serious concerns and intends to discuss these events with government representatives”.

On July 24, the EU Representative to Ukraine Katarina Maternova reported that G7 ambassadors welcome Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs promise to restore independence to anti-corruption institutions and can help in this. This was in response to the presidentʼs words that he would propose to the Verkhovna Rada a new draft law on the work of anti-corruption bodies.

The EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Cos warned before the adoption of Law No. 12414 that it was a “serious step back” on Ukraine’s path to the bloc. European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said on July 23 that EC President Ursula von der Leyen was watching the developments “with deep concern”.

"Both institutions — NABU and SAPO — are widely considered the cornerstones of the rule of law in Ukraine," Mercier emphasized.

At the same time, European Commissioner for the Economy Valdis Dombrovskis, who is responsible for financial assistance to Kyiv, emphasized in a comment to the Financial Times that these two institutions "are crucial to Ukraineʼs reform course and must act independently to fight corruption and maintain public trust".

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) shares the concerns expressed by Brussels, G7 ambassadors and international partners regarding the restrictions on the work of the Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office.

"The independence of anti-corruption bodies is a key pillar of the rule of law. We will continue to engage with the Ukrainian authorities on this issue," they say.

Earlier, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned the government that the attack on anti-corruption agencies will negatively affect defense investments in Ukraine. The corresponding letter was received by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra.

What is happening with NABU and SAPO?

Law No. 12414, among other things, empowers the Prosecutor General to:

• to take cases from NABU and entrust the investigation to other bodies;
• be the de facto head of SAPO and delegate the powers of SAPO prosecutor to other prosecutors;
• provide the Bureauʼs detectives with mandatory written instructions;
• independently close cases on suspicion of top officials.

Amendments are also envisaged that will limit the activities of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office, namely:

• the SAPO prosecutors will not be able to determine NABUʼs jurisdiction in certain cases;
• the head of SAPO will not be able to resolve disputes about subjectivity in cases that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau can investigate;
• The head of SAPO will not have the authority to amend appeals and cassation complaints filed by the SAPO prosecutors.

Anti-corruption authorities stressed that if the document is adopted, the head of SAPO will become a nominal figure, and NABU will lose its independence and turn into a unit of the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office. Protests against the bill have begun across Ukraine.

What preceded the law

On July 21, law enforcement officers conducted mass searches at NABU and SAPO. In particular, they detained one of the heads of the Bureauʼs interregional detective departments Ruslan Maghamedrasulov. According to the investigation, the official was in close contact with the fugitive MP from the banned “OPZZh” party Fedir Khrystenko (he was reported suspected of treason), who is connected to the Russian special services.

NABU reported almost 70 searches involving 15 of its employees. They stated that most of them were due to the employeesʼ involvement in a road accident (three employees were later reported as suspicious for this).

SBU also said that it had exposed a mole in the NABU who was spying for FSB. At the same time, the Bureau says that back in 2023, the special service was informed about a possible mole, but at that time SBU did not reveal the involvement of the bureau employee in espionage.

NABU and SAPO also accused the Security Service of potentially revealing confidential information about the investigation during investigative actions. SBU called these statements manipulations.

And on July 22, SBU reported the discovery of new leaks of secret data in the NABU — during searches, confidential NABU documents were found in Khrystenkoʼs house.

After studying the materials of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office, the court arrested two NABU employees — an employee of the NABU Central Office, who, according to the investigation, works in the closed unit "D-2", and one of the heads of the interregional departments of the NABU detectives Ruslan Maghamedrasulov.

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