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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to sign a bill curbing the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau before receiving a formal position from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, sources in the anti-corruption infrastructure told NV Business on July 22.
The Ukrainian parliament has passed a controversial bill that international watchdogs say threatens the independence of the country’s key anti-corruption agencies, prompting concern from the European Union and other Western partners.
The Verkhovna Rada on July 22 approved draft law No. 12414, which was criticized by Transparency International Ukraine as an effort to strip the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) of their autonomy.
The bill, introduced by MP Maksym Buzhanskyi of the ruling Servant of the People party, amends the Criminal Code and grants the Prosecutor General sweeping new powers. These include the ability to reassign NABU investigations to other bodies, issue binding instructions to NABU detectives, delegate SAPO prosecutor powers, and unilaterally close cases involving top officials.
It also significantly weakens SAPO’s procedural autonomy by:
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Preventing SAPO prosecutors from determining NABU jurisdiction in exceptional cases;
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Stripping the SAPO head of authority to resolve jurisdictional disputes or amend appeal and cassation complaints.
Transparency International said the changes could “destroy key guarantees of independence” and violate Article 116 of the Verkhovna Rada’s Rules of Procedure by fundamentally altering the subject of the draft legislation.
NABU Director Semen Kryvonos said Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have appealed to the EU, the U.S., the International Monetary Fund, and several embassies over the bill. “We have already reached out to a number of international institutions,” Kryvonos told Interfax-Ukraine.
European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said Brussels is closely monitoring the situation. “The EU is concerned about Ukraine’s recent actions regarding NABU and SAPO,” he said. “Preventive mechanisms exist, but we will see if we ever get to that.”
According to government sources, the Office of the President does not expect positive feedback from Brussels, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy intends to proceed swiftly with the signing. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to send a personal letter to Zelenskyy urging a veto or postponement.
Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk has already signed the bill and forwarded it to the president.
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