Zelenskyy on NABU/SAPO: It’s important that Ukrainians responding with such dignity to everything thatʼs happening
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that he had introduced a bill regarding the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) to establish justice.
“Today, my bill is already in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – fulfilling my promise – for justice, for law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies. Full-fledged guarantees of the independence of anti-corruption agencies. Real opportunities to verify, so that any Russian interference is kept out,” Zelenskyy said during his evening address Thursday.
According to him, the text of the bill was discussed "with partners, and with law enforcement officers, and with representatives of the NABU and SAPO." “There were many proposals from partners to involve European experts – from Britain, Germany, the EU. I instructed government officials to present the bill to partners and to engage all necessary expert capabilities,” the President said.
At the same time, he commented on the rallies that took place in a number of Ukrainian cities against the limitation of the powers of anti-corruption bodies.
“And of course, it is important that Ukrainians are responding with such dignity to everything thatʼs happening. Ukraine is a country of people who donʼt look away. Thank you to everyone who is fighting for our state, who is working for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
As reported, the draft law "On amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and certain legislative acts of Ukraine concerning strengthening the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office" was submitted by the head of state and received registration number 13533.
As noted in the explanatory note, the bill contains provisions aimed at securing the status of SAPO as a body that independently exercises procedural management of the investigation of crimes attributed to the jurisdiction of NABU. The bill also proposes a mechanism for preventing intelligence and subversive activities of foreign special services in relation to employees of anti-corruption agencies. The bill introduces new preventive and counterintelligence mechanisms to protect anti-corruption agencies from the possible influence of an aggressor state.