The Rada went on “vacation” after the scandalous vote: when will the law on NABU be corrected
23 July 22:24
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has gone on a four-week recess, leaving behind a high-profile vote that effectively destroyed anti-corruption legislation. Despite the government’s promises to “fix the situation,” MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak warns that we should not expect quick changes, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“Don’t fall for the ‘we’ll fix it in two weeks’ story about NABU and SAPO…” the MP wrote on his Telegram.
According to Zhelezniak, the situation looks critical now, as the parliament is on recess until August 20, so no movement towards the abolition of the scandalous norms should be expected in the near future.
“For your understanding, the Rada, after the destruction of anti-corruption legislation, has now gone on a “break”… for 4 weeks, until the 20th of August… So nothing will happen even theoretically. And then they will pretend that the topic is not so relevant anymore. As always…” the MP emphasized.
At the same time, the MP confirms that next week the government plans to convene the Rada to cancel the high-profile amendments that threaten the independence of the NABU and the SAPO. However, there is no specific date for the meeting yet.
“Yes, I can confirm that next week the Rada is going to convene to cancel these corrupt regulations on the liquidation of NABU and SAPO. There is no date yet, they are urgently trying to find out the attendance,” the MP said.
According to Zhelezniak, there is still no text of the new draft law. And the trust in the words of the authorities has been exhausted:
“We haven’t seen the text, it will probably be available tomorrow. I no longer believe the authorities at their word. Therefore, we are registering (and there are already more than 45 signatures) a law to cancel the trash that was adopted.”
Zheleznyak also emphasized that the strong position of international partners and public protest were key factors in putting pressure on the authorities:
“The categorical position of our partners (especially regarding money) and protests played a big role in this.”
What happened before
on July 22, the Parliament passed and the President signed Law No. 12414, which provides for the expansion of the Prosecutor General’s powers over NABU and SAPO. In particular, the document allows
- take cases from the NABU and transfer them to other bodies;
- to actually manage the SAPO and delegate powers to its prosecutors;
- give written instructions to NABU detectives;
- close cases against top officials.
The law also restricts the powers of the head of the SAPO and changes the procedure for determining the jurisdiction of the NABU.
The NABU and SAPO stated that these changes threaten the independence of the agencies and turn them into subdivisions of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Protests took place in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa.
Searches at NABU and SAPO
On the eve of the adoption of the law, massive searches took place in NABU and SAPO. The SBU claimed to have exposed a mole who was spying for the FSB. The bureau called it a manipulation, noting that they themselves had reported the suspicion to the SBU back in 2023.
Two NABU employees were also detained, including Ruslan Magamedrasulov, head of the Interregional Detective Department. He is associated with the fugitive MP from the OPFL, Fedir Khrystenko, who is suspected of treason.
The SBU claims that confidential NABU documents were found during the searches of Khristenko’s place.
