Tymoshenko says she will not vote to restore independence to NABU and SAPO

On 23 July, residents of Mykolaiv rallied against the law restricting the work of NABU and SAPO. Photo: NikVesti

Amid discussions about limiting the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the «Batkivshchyna» party is initiating an alternative bill. The leader of the political force proposes to change the mechanism for appointing the heads of anti-corruption bodies by transferring these powers to the Assembly of Heroes of Ukraine.

This opinion was expressed by Yuliia Tymoshenko on «Espreso».

«For 11 years, including the last 5 years, the NABU, the SAPO and the Anti-Corruption Court have been fighting corruption in the country. The whole country knows the results. I'm not even going to tell them what the situation with corruption is now. That's why it's important that anti-corruption agencies are truly independent from everyone. It's bad when they are dependent on the president, the government, the Prosecutor General, and it's equally bad when they are dependent on foreign nationals whose purpose in Ukraine we don't know at all. That is why they must be truly independent,» Yuliia Tymoshenko is convinced.

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She noted that they had prepared an alternative draft law.

«That's why we thought, as a team, how to make them independent. How to appoint them in such a way that they would not be subordinate to anyone who has access to money, finances, budget and everything else. That's why we are introducing an alternative bill that, in our opinion, can fix this situation,» said Yuliia Tymoshenko.

The «Batkivshchyna» party is convinced that independence should be not only from the Ukrainian government, but also from foreign advisory structures. According to Tymoshenko, a way out of the situation could be the creation of a national appointment mechanism. The draft law of «Batkivshchyna» proposes the formation of a National Assembly of Heroes of Ukraine who have received this title for participation in hostilities.

«Foreign citizens appoint anti-corruption bodies. So we thought, why not create a National Assembly, which, for example, could be made up of Heroes of Ukraine who have been awarded the title for participation in combat operations. We have 211 of them alive today. Instead of this international advisory council, which no one understands, they should be given the opportunity to reboot NABU, SAPO, and the Anti-Corruption Court. And for them to vote, having listened to all the candidates, and choose the most worthy one,» the head of the faction said.

Tymoshenko stressed that her faction would support only its own draft law and had already started working on another one to exclude foreign advisory bodies from all laws.

«I will convince the President, the Parliament, the factions, all the people in Ukraine who can make decisions that we need to pass such a law,» Yuliia Tymoshenko said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the law on the independence of the NABU and the SAPO would be adopted this week.

It should be noted that the parliament will consider the presidential draft law on restoring the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) on 31 July.

The day before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had already agreed on the text of a new draft law that would «strengthen» the independence of the anti-corruption bodies and that he would submit it to the Verkhovna Rada on 24 July.

Late in the evening of 22 July, it became known that President 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.

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. 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.