Zelenskyy promises law that will preserve «independence of anti-corruption institutions»
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- Kateryna Sereda
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19:47, 23 July, 2025
Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to preserve the independence of NABU, photo: EPA - ELTAPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the preparation of a presidential bill to strengthen the independence of anti-corruption institutions and the rule of law in the country.
He announced this in his address on 23 July.
According to the head of state, in recent days, meetings have been held with representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General's Office. They discussed joint actions by law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies to increase efficiency and restore public trust.
- Of course, everyone has heard what people are saying these days - on social media, to each other, on the streets. This is not in vain. We have analysed all the concerns, all the aspects of what needs to be changed and what needs to be intensified," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He expects the security forces to come up with a plan of concrete steps that can strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine. And he, in turn, will propose a draft law to the Verkhovna Rada that will «ensure the strength of the law and order system».
At the same time, he emphasised that there will be no Russian influence on the law enforcement system.
- "There will be no Russian influence or interference in the activities of law enforcement agencies, and - very importantly - all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place. And I look forward to our group of heads of law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to propose the rules that will work. This will be a presidential draft law, and we are implementing it as part of our strategy for transforming the state," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
As a reminder, late on 22 July, it became known that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had signed Law 12414, which allows the Prosecutor General to control the anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAPO.
This decision caused massive outrage among the people. After the Verkhovna Rada voted for the law, protests were held in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro and Sumy, demanding that it be vetoed. On 23 July, residents of Mykolaiv came out to protest.
Searches of NABU and SAPO offices
On 21 July, officers of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office began conducting searches of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in several regions of Ukraine. As explained, the investigative actions were part of a special operation to neutralise Russian influence on the NABU. They noted that the suspicions relate, among other things, to high treason, illegal trade with Russia and corrupt actions in the interests of oligarchs.
Later, the SBU detained Ruslan Magamedrasulov, one of the heads of the NABU's interregional detective department. He is suspected of doing business with Russia and aiding the aggressor state.
Responding to this, the NABU called the searches unreasonable and likely to harm the investigation. In most cases, according to the anti-corruption agency, investigative actions were carried out without court orders. The security forces cited, among other things, the involvement of some NABU employees in road accidents as grounds. The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office also reported a similar inspection. They stressed that such visits contradicted established legal procedures.
According to the prosecutor's office, during the inspection, SBU officers gained access to information about all covert and operational activities carried out by the SAPO and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. This happened when the leadership of both institutions was on a business trip abroad.
Later, it became known that the State Bureau of Investigation had served three employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine with suspicion notices in connection with their involvement in road accidents that resulted in injuries.
Following the NABU's accusations, the Security Service of Ukraine stated that it did not have access to covert investigations conducted by the NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. This accusation was called groundless and manipulative by «» . The Security Service of Ukraine also detained an employee of the closed unit of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine «D-2», who is suspected of working for the FSB.
The next day, on 22 July, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement supported amendments to the CPC that could make the NABU and the SAPO dependent on the decisions of the Prosecutor General. It was supported by 263 MPs at the Rada meeting.
This decision was also supported by all MPs from Mykolaiv.
