President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the competition for the position of director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau will be announced in the coming days or weeks. This is one of the EUʼs requirements for starting accession negotiations.
The president announced this at a briefing with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre, Interfax reports.
"As for NABU: the tender must be announced, the full composition of the commission must be present. I am sure that it will be done in the coming days or weeks," Zelenskyy said.
He was also asked about the appointment of the head of the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecution (SAP) because this is also one of the requirements of the European Union.
"As for the head of the SAP, it is not the president, but another commission that decides who will win. After that, the prosecutor general decides, not the president," he added.
- The competition commission has been electing a new head of the SAP for almost two years, the reason for this was internal conflicts and alleged "pressure from the authorities". At the same time, two candidates for the positions of the head of the SAP and the deputy head were still identified. According to scores, NABU detective Oleksandr Klymenko should become the head of the SAP, and prosecutor Andriy Sinyuk should become his deputy. But the commission cannot approve the final results.
- In September of last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised US President Joe Biden that the SAP would get a new head by the end of 2021, the same promise is contained in Ukraineʼs memorandum with the IMF.
- Activists accuse the competition of commission members from the Verkhovna Rada, who are allegedly controlled by the deputy head of the Presidentʼs Office, Oleh Tatarov, for delaying and disrupting the competition. They believe that Tatarov is trying to disrupt the contest because NABU detective Oleksandr Klymenko is winning. It was he who led the investigation into the case of the ex-director of Ukrbud, Maksym Mykytas, in which Tatarov also appeared.