For the first time in history: Ukraine pays a reward to a corruption whistleblower
4 October 2024 18:43
For the first time in Ukraine, a corruption whistleblower has been rewarded. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with citing to the NAPC.
It is known that it was received by a serving serviceman who reported in 2021 that he had been offered a bribe of UAH 24 million for an audit service. As a result, the former deputy defence minister was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison.
Initially, the court refused to pay the whistleblower, but the HACC Appeals Chamber changed the decision and the military officer received a reward in accordance with the law on the prevention of corruption adopted in 2019, which provides for the payment of 10% of the amount of a corruption crime.
NAPC Chairman Viktor Pavlushchyk explained that the first payment in the history of the Ukrainian whistleblowing institution was made possible by changing the procedure for using funds provided for in the state budget for the implementation of anti-corruption strategies, stressing that the issue of regulating further payments of remuneration to whistleblowers is a priority for the NAPC.
It is worth noting that the possibility of rewarding corruption whistleblowers was introduced in 2019. So far, the courts have made two positive decisions on payments, but due to the lack of regulated payment procedures, actual enforcement of court decisions has been impossible for a long time.
