The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement Activities supported the adoption of President Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs draft law on the work of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO).
This was reported by the public organization Transparency International Ukraine and an MP from “Voice” Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
The meeting was held on Wednesday, July 30. The committee considered document No. 13533 on the restoration of the independence of NABU and SAPO, as well as six alternatives to it. 19 members of the committee voted for the adoption of Zelenskyʼs draft law as a basis and in its entirety, as well as for the rejection of alternative norms. The decision was made unanimously, there were no those who were against or abstained, says Zheleznyak.
"Tomorrow, this very decision will be put to a vote in the Rada hall. In two readings at once," the parliamentarian noted.
Earlier, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk confirmed that the peopleʼs deputies will consider the presidential bill on July 31.
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.
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.
The Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Semen 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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