The Commission determined the winner for the position of the head of the SAPO. The competition lasted almost two years

The Commission has determined the winner of the competition for the position of the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO) — NABU detective, Oleksandr Klymenko.

The corresponding decision was supported by the members of the commission at the meeting on July 19.

Now the commission must apply to the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office to appoint Klymenko as the new head of the SAPO. In addition, the commission determined the winner for the position of the first deputy head of the SAPO — he became the prosecutor of the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office Andrii Sinyuk.

The members of the commission also decided that the application for the appointment of the head of the SAPO will be submitted after the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office confirms that the candidates have passed a special check and have access to state secrets.

• The competition commission could not elect a new head of the SAPO for almost two years, the reason for this was internal conflicts and the alleged "pressure of the authorities". At the same time, two candidates for the positions of the head of the SAPO and the deputy head were determined at the end of 2021. According to points, NABU detective Oleksandr Klymenko was to become the head of the SAPO, and prosecutor Andriy Sinyuk was to become his deputy. But the commission could not approve the final results.
• Activists accused the members of the commission from the Verkhovna Rada, who were allegedly controlled by the deputy head of the Presidentʼs Office, Oleg Tatarov, of delaying and disrupting the competition. They believed that Tatarov tried to disrupt the competition because NABU detective, Oleksandr Klymenko, was winning. It was he who led the investigation into the case of the ex-director of Ukrbud, Maksym Mykytas, in which Tatarov also appeared.
• The requirement to appoint the winner of the competition to the position of the head of the SAPO is in the list of mandatory requirements for the start of negotiations for Ukraineʼs accession to the European Union.
• On July 17, in an evening address, Volodymyr Zelensky called on all competent authorities to start a competition to elect a new head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, as well as to appoint the head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office.