Ukraine must pass draft laws to strengthen the fight against corruption. This directly affects the effectiveness of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the High Anti-Corruption Court.
These include, in particular, laws on establishing an independent expert institution for NABU and strengthening the procedural capacity of the SAPO. These documents are set out in the ten-point plan of priority reforms and the Ukraine Facility, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos said at a discussion organised by LB and EFI Group.
“Many draft laws have already been registered on the initiative of various MPs. The government was preparing them — the previous cabinet; the new one is probably preparing them too — we have not yet communicated with them on this topic,” he said.
Semen Kryvonos stressed that every hryvnia stolen means a reduction in the country’s defence capability.
“There are no red lines that we, when investigating our alleged crimes, must or must not cross. The only red line is the law. If we do not break the law, if the law obliges us to investigate a corruption offence, we must do it. There are no indulgences, no mitigating circumstances,” the NABU director said.
The legislator itself has determined that embezzlement during martial law is a more serious offence, he added. Certain articles of the Criminal Code stipulate that offences committed during martial law will carry tougher liability.