03 June 2021, Thursday, 13:32 135

Zelenskyy Suggests Rada Civil Servants Declare Contacts With Oligarchs

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine oblige civil servants to declare contacts with oligarchs.

That follows from the bill 5599 On Prevention of Threats to National Security, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

In case there is contact with an oligarch or his/her representative, such a civil servant is obliged to submit a declaration on contacts.

Contact with a person on the Oligarchs List means a meeting or a talk inter alia online one.

Persons on the List and their representatives have to inform civil servants before such a meeting or a talk about the fact of their being on the Oligarchs List.

At the same time, the declaration on contacts must not be submitted should such a contact take place in the course of the participation of civil servants along with persons on the Oligarchs List or their representatives in;

1) official events, the course of which is displayed live on radio, television or via the Internet in a mode available for mass reception;

2) court sessions;
3) official events (meetings) initiated by public authorities, information about which (indicating the full list of participants and the subject of discussion) is available on the official website of the relevant public authority.

The submission of a declaration of contacts is carried out no later than the next day after contact with oligarchs, or their representatives by filling out a declaration of contacts on the official website of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) in the form determined by the Regulations on the List.

The obligation to submit a declaration of contacts applies to:

1) the President, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, his/her first deputy and a deputy, members of the Verkhovna Rada, prime minister, first vice prime minister, vice prime minister, ministers, their first deputies and deputies, head of the Security Service of Ukraine and his/her deputies, the Prosecutor General and his/her deputies, the Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine and his/her deputies;
2) judges of the Constitutional Court, judges;
3) the head of a permanent subsidiary body formed by the President, his/her first deputy and deputies;
4) the chairman and members of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting, the chairman and members of the Antimonopoly Committee, the chairman and members of the Accounting Chamber, the chairman and members of the Central Election Commission, chairmen and members of other state collegial bodies, the chairman and members of the High Council of Justice;
5) the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and his/her deputies;
6) the chairman of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting and his/her deputies, the chairman of the State Property Fund and his/her deputies, the chairman of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and his/her deputies, the director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and his/her deputies, the director of the State Bureau of Investigation and his/her deputies, the director of the Economic Security and his/her deputies;
7) the authorized person of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for human rights;
8) civil servants holding civil service positions of category "A";
9) heads of local state administrations, their first deputies and deputies;
10) servicemen of the Armed Forces and other military formations who have been awarded the highest military rank;
11) persons of the commanding staff of law enforcement agencies and employees of other bodies who have been assigned a special rank above.

Violation of the obligation to submit a declaration of contacts is the basis for bringing a person to political and (or) disciplinary responsibility.

Failure to inform by the oligarch about the fact of including information about him in the List releases the public servant from responsibility.

The declaration of contacts must contain information about:

1) the person who submitted it;
2) the person on the List, his/her representative, with whom the contact occurred;
3) the date and place of the meeting (talk), its summary.

In addition, the final provisions state that the chairman of the Security Service and his/her deputies; the Rada's Commissioner for Human Rights; the head of the National Bank and his/her deputies; members of the CEC; members of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting; National Anticorruption Bureau (NACB) director, his/her first deputies, and deputies; the director of the SDB and his/her deputies; the chairman and other members of the Accounts Chamber are subject to dismissal in case of the violation of the filing requirements, as well as compliance with the deadlines for filing a declaration of contacts.

It is also indicated that the Prosecutor General and his/her deputies bear responsibility for the violation of these requirements.

The bill proposes to add to the disciplinary misconduct of civil servants holding a category "A" civil service position violation of the filing requirements, as well as compliance with the deadlines for filing a declaration of contacts.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine put participants in political life, those having a significant influence on the media, having a monopoly on the state market, and assets worth over a million living wages on the list of oligarchs.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ban oligarchs from financing political parties and participating in privatization.