06 September 2022, Tuesday, 10:29 326

G7 concerned over bill 7654 able to potentially undermine competition to NACB

Редактор: Roman Vaniyan

The ambassadors of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States) expressed their concern over bill 7654 recommended by the Committee on the Organization of State Power for the Verkhovna Rada to adopt.

That follows from a statement by of the G7 ambassadors on Twitter.

Thus, bill 7654 cancels the requirement for the director of the National Anticorruption Bureau (NACB) not to cooperate with or be a member of political parties.

"The G7 ambassadors, as long-standing supporters of the fight against corruption, are concerned over bill 7654, which we are closely following: it creates legal risks and uncertainty around the procedures for selecting the leadership of key anti-corruption institutions of Ukraine," the message reads.

On Monday, the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on the Organization of State Power supported as a basis bill 7654, which changes the procedure for holding a competition for the post of NACB director.

As Vitalii Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Center, explained on Telegram, the deputies are canceling the requirement for restrictions for candidates for work in the party's governing bodies or those who have been in contractual relations with it for the past two years.

"The current law expressly forbids candidates who have worked in the governing bodies of the party for the past two years and/or were in contractual relations with it to present themselves. Now the deputies are canceling this restriction (it is enough to stop such activities right before applying for the competition)," Shabunin said.

The bill also provides for the possibility of early dismissal of the heads of NACB and NACP "for an offense related to corruption."

This bill was initiated by MP Andrii Klochko (the Servant of the People party faction), against whom the NACB and Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office (SACPO) opened a case at the end of 2021 after journalists publishing an investigation into the possession of land plots, an estate, an apartment and a Tesla car by his retired mother. In total, journalists "found" real estate worth UAH 14.5 million from Klochko's mother.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal instructed the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers to urgently organize the first meeting of the selection commission for the head of the NACB.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Ukraine should appoint the head of the SACPO and the director of the NACB as soon as possible, this is one of the conditions for the start of negotiations between Ukraine and the EU regarding the application.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the competition commission to appoint a prosecutor of the SACPO and to start the selection of the head of NACB.