Polygraph is the new normal: Zelensky announces anti-corruption initiatives for security forces
24 July 22:05
VIDEO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced new security measures for law enforcement agencies. From now on, employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the National Police will be subjected to polygraph tests, the head of state said in his video address to Ukrainians on July 24, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Zelenskyy began by announcing that a new bill aimed at strengthening the institutional independence of anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies had been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. The document was submitted as an urgent one and has already been registered in parliament.
According to the President, the initiative should ensure reliable protection of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the National Police from external interference, in particular from the Russian Federation.
One of the key mechanisms within the draft law is the introduction of mandatory and regular polygraph examinations for all employees who have access to state secrets.
This means not only NABU and SAPO, but also the State Bureau of Investigation, our national police, should be subjected to lie detector tests. And these should be regular checks. Real opportunities to check that there is no Russian interference,” the president said in his address.
Read also: NABU and SAPO joined the drafting of a bill on their independence: details of the document
Special attention in the draft law was paid to the creation of legal safeguards against abuses that may arise during the implementation of new control mechanisms. Zelenskyy emphasized that the text of the document was the subject of consultations with Ukrainian law enforcement officers, representatives of the NABU and the SAPO, as well as international partners. The initiative was supported by the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union.
Moreover, many of the proposals in the draft law were made on the recommendation of Western experts.
The President also instructed the Government of Ukraine to officially present the draft law to all international partners and to involve the necessary expert institutions from abroad in its finalization.
It is very important for Ukrainian society to see transparent, professional anti-corruption agencies protected from political influence. And our international partners need to be confident in the sustainability of the reforms they support. Ukraine is about people who care. And I am grateful to everyone who does not stand aside,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The adoption of the new draft law, according to experts, will be an important step in maintaining confidence in Ukraine’s anti-corruption system and will strengthen Kyiv’s arguments in negotiations with partners for further financial and political support.
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