The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk commented on the presidential bill No. 13533 on the work of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO).
Stefanchuk spoke about this in an interview with the Verkhovna Rada TV channel.
He is convinced that the document, registered at the initiative of Volodymyr Zelensky, is aimed at both strengthening the independence of anti-corruption bodies and preventing Russian influence on Ukrainian officials.
"There cannot be uncontrolled bodies in Ukraine, because it is necessary to be independent, but not independent of the law, of the vision and, letʼs say, of the Ukrainian victory. These are important things that today, in my opinion, are contained in this bill," said the speaker of the parliament.
Bill No. 13533 turned out to be a compromise and consolidation, Ruslan Stefanchuk believes. According to him, there is a decision of the Councilʼs Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy that the document complies with "all principles and norms of anti-corruption legislation". There are also positive reviews from European partners, he added.
"It seems to me that this is the unifying option that will provide an opportunity to ensure victory for everyone: Ukrainian society, youth, parliament [...] We will emerge from this small crisis stronger," Stefanchuk said.
What is happening with NABU and SAPO?
On July 22, Volodymyr Zelensky signed Law No. 12414, which amends the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Among other things, this law grants the Prosecutor General the following powers:
- to take cases to the Bureau and entrust investigations to other bodies;
- be the de facto head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office and delegate the powers of the SAPO prosecutor to other prosecutors;
- provide the NABU detectives with mandatory written instructions;
- independently close cases on suspicion of top officials.
The law also contains amendments that limited the activities of SAPO, namely:
- prosecutors of the body will not be able to determine NABUʼs jurisdiction in certain cases;
- the head of SAPO will not be able to resolve disputes about the subjectivity of investigation in cases that the Bureau can investigate;
- The head of SAPO will not have the authority to amend appeals and cassation complaints filed by the SAPO prosecutors.
NABU and SAPO emphasized that if the document is adopted, the head of SAPO will become a nominal figure, and the Bureau will lose its independence and turn into a unit of the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office. In Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, and Dnipro, people took to the streets to protest against the bill on July 22, and they continued the next day, July 23.
Already on July 24, at the initiative of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 13533 on "strengthening the powers" of NABU and SAPO. Anti-corruption authorities supported this initiative.
Parliament will consider Zelenskyʼs bill on July 31, Stefanchuk said.
The Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Semyon Kryvonos insisted that Bill No. 13533 be passed in two readings at once to avoid the risk of amendments, blocking, or delays. At the same time, he believes that despite the new law, attacks on anti-corruption agencies may continue.
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