“European Solidarity” initiates the return of officials of the President’s Office and the leadership of the State Bureau of Investigation to the jurisdiction of NABU – Sofia Fedina
Deputies from the European Solidarity faction are initiating amendments to Article 216 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine to expand the jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine in cases of corruption offenses.
This was reported during a briefing by People’s Deputy Sofia Fedina . She noted that at one time the mono-majority removed the leadership of the Office of the President and the State Bureau of Investigation under the jurisdiction of NABU, which hinders the full-fledged work of anti-corruption agencies.
“This bill completes the triad of bills that European Solidarity is presenting this week. Let us recall that the first bill concerns arbitrary extrajudicial searches , which, unfortunately, became a reality in Ukraine during martial law. The second bill is about resuming fair and transparent competitions for prosecutor positions , which were cancelled by the presidential bill on SAP and NABU. And the third bill returns officials of the Presidential Office and the leadership of the State Bureau of Investigation to the jurisdiction of NABU,” Fedina explained.
“First of all, it is about equality before the law. NABU was created precisely to investigate corruption at the highest levels of power. Unfortunately, an absurd situation has arisen in which some officials have been removed from NABU’s jurisdiction. And no one should investigate their corrupt actions. No one should be outside the law. The law is the same for everyone. And regardless of what position you hold, you must answer according to the current legislation if you did something wrong,” says Fedina.
“According to the Criminal Procedure Code, NABU must investigate cases against officials of the Presidential Office and the State Bureau of Investigation. But in 2019-2020, the mono-majority introduced changes that removed the leadership of the Presidential Office and the State Bureau of Investigation from the jurisdiction of NABU. And as a result, a kind of gray zone was created,” the people’s deputy recalled.
She also noted that this requirement is the fulfillment of our international obligations: “both the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and our partners from the Big Seven clearly demand guarantees that all corruption crimes of senior officials will be investigated by independent structures. That these institutions will have real, not nominal powers. And if we strive for membership in the European Union, if we count on financial assistance from our Western partners, we must eliminate such loopholes for top corrupt officials,” Sofia Fedina believes.
This will also help restore public trust, the MP notes. “The recent mass protests against the destruction of the independence of anti-corruption bodies, the youth who took to the streets in different regions of Ukraine, showed a high level of mistrust in the authorities. That is why the authorities reacted, submitted a bill on restoring the independence of SAP and NABU. But in fact, the problem was not only SAP and NABU, not only in the appointment of the head of the BEB. If the authorities really have set themselves the goal of hearing the citizens of Ukraine, then it is necessary to restore the full independence and efficiency of anti-corruption institutions, and accordingly remove artificial restrictions on jurisdiction,” Fedina notes.
“Society has given NABU a huge vote of confidence, obliging this institution to work according to its tasks and competencies, to investigate the cases of those who stand at the top of the power pyramid. Therefore, by limiting NABU, we weaken the fight against corruption. If we restore NABU’s full jurisdiction over all top officials from the Office of the President and the State Bureau of Investigation, we will strengthen the state’s ability to protect its interests,” the people’s deputy notes.
She also warned the authorities against using law enforcement agencies for political purposes: “in war conditions, when democratic institutions are already critically weakened, it is very important to exclude the possibility of using the law enforcement system for political interests. Therefore, the return of full jurisdiction for NABU is an institutional fuse that works to protect the entire system.”
“I appeal to my colleagues in parliament to sign this bill. We must do everything to ensure that there is as little corruption as possible, because it lowers us to the level of the Moscow Federation. By the way, “European Solidarity” registered bill 10050 back in 2024, which requires the declaration of advisers to the Presidential Office,” Fedina recalled.
“If we want the state to have a European future, we must do everything possible to ensure that all top officials are held accountable for their actions, in particular if they have committed corrupt crimes. Three bills – on competitions for prosecutors, on the ban on arbitrary extrajudicial searches and on returning the OP and the State Bureau of Investigation to the jurisdiction of NABU – are steps that should return justice to our state, restore the trust of our citizens and the trust of our Western partners. This is another step towards bringing Ukraine’s victory closer,” Sofia Fedina sums up.
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