Ukrainian lawmakers and government officials have been apprehended following allegations of a widespread bribery scheme related to the procurement of drones and electronic warfare systems. Anti-corruption agencies discovered inflated contract prices of up to 30% with suppliers. President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and thanked the agencies for their efforts.
Zelensky’s government faced significant backlash after proposing a bill that aimed to revoke the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). This sparked the largest anti-government demonstrations since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The president argued that the agencies needed to be decontaminated from Russian influence and sought to grant prosecutorial authority to the general prosecutor in high-level corruption cases. However, Zelensky eventually acknowledged the public’s discontent and introduced a new bill restoring the agencies’ independence, which was swiftly approved by parliament within nine days.
The restoration of anti-corruption agencies’ independence is crucial for Ukraine’s quest to join the European Union. The creation of NABU and SAPO was a requirement set by the European Commission and International Monetary Fund in 2014 for relaxing visa restrictions. Consequently, Kyiv was granted EU candidate status in 2022. These agencies have been instrumental in investigating the misappropriation of assets and bribes across various sectors. In 2023, a joint investigation led to the arrest of Vsevolod Kniaziev, the head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, in connection with a $3 million bribe.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gq3xwr357o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
