Bill № 12414 carries direct threat to loss of independence of SAPO and NABU – statement by anti-corruption bodies
Bill No. 12414 on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, included today in the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, poses a direct threat to the loss of independence of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the anti-corruption agencies say.
"If the bill is adopted, all guarantees of the independence of NABU and SAPO, as well as our ability to conduct any investigations into top corruption, will be destroyed," SAPO said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
The SAPO statement notes that the provisions of the bill directly provide for the granting of exclusive powers to the prosecutor general to gain access to and request any proceedings of NABU and SAPO, as well as to transfer them to another pretrial investigation body.
"In the event of a dispute over jurisdiction between NABU and other pretrial investigation bodies, it will be resolved exclusively by the prosecutor general. The prosecutor general effectively becomes the direct head of the SAPO with the authority to give SAPO prosecutors any instructions," the SAPO notes.
In addition, as specified by the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, the prosecutor general is granted exclusive powers to close cases against senior government officials.
"In fact, if this bill is adopted, the head of SAPO becomes a nominal figure, and NABU loses its independence and turns into a division of the Prosecutor General's Office," the NABU statement reads.
The anti-corruption bureau notes that in this way the anti-corruption infrastructure of Ukraine, built since 2015, will be destroyed.
"We call on the people's representatives to abstain from voting, which can finally destroy the independence of the anti-corruption system in Ukraine," the NABU statement says.