The draft law of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky establishes the status of the SAPO as a body that independently carries out procedural management of the investigation and proposes a mechanism to prevent intelligence and subversive activities of foreign special services against employees of anti-corruption bodies.

This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the text of the draft law No. 13533, published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada.

The explanatory note states that the version of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which was adopted by the parliament on July 22, contains potential risks for the effective functioning of the anti-corruption infrastructure in Ukraine, in particular regarding the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

The draft law aims to guarantee the strengthening of the institutional independence of the NABU and the SAPO, as well as to ensure reliable protection of their activities from the influence and interference of the aggressor state.

The document also contains provisions aimed at consolidating the status of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office as a body that independently carries out procedural management of the investigation of crimes under the jurisdiction of the NABU.

At the same time, the norms of the legislative initiative offer a mechanism to prevent intelligence and subversive activities of foreign special services against employees of anti-corruption bodies.

It is proposed to introduce new preventive and counterintelligence mechanisms to protect anti-corruption bodies from the possible influence of an aggressor state.

The presidential bill proposes to make a number of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law, which are aimed at strengthening the institutional independence of the SAPO and NABU, as well as introducing additional safeguards against possible influence of the aggressor state on anti-corruption bodies.

The initiative provides that the Prosecutor General (or a person performing his duties) will have the right to provide written instructions to the head of the pre-trial investigation body, with the exception of detective units and the internal control unit of the NABU. At the same time, the Deputy Prosecutor General - the head of the SAPO, his first deputy or deputy will have the authority to change, supplement or withdraw appeal and cassation complaints, as well as applications for review of court decisions filed by them personally or by SAPO prosecutors.

The draft law proposes to grant the Prosecutor General the right to entrust another pre-trial investigation body with the investigation of crimes attributed to the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BEB), in the event of the BEB’s ineffective operation or its inability to function during martial law. The Prosecutor General is also proposed to be granted the authority to entrust the BEB with the investigation of cases that are under the jurisdiction of other bodies. At the same time, the draft law prohibits transferring NABU cases to other pre-trial investigation bodies, except in cases where NABU is actually unable to function. In such a case, only the Prosecutor General or the head of the SAPO can make the appropriate decision.

The draft law also establishes that the heads of pre-trial investigation bodies are obliged to carry out the written instructions of the prosecutor, and liability is provided for their failure. The exception is the proceedings handled by NABU detectives, who are obliged to carry out only the written instructions of the SAPO prosecutor. Failure to comply with such instructions is grounds for the detective to be removed from the investigation.

The initiative provides that operational units (National Police, SBU, NABU, State Bureau of Investigation, Border Guards, penitentiary system, etc.) perform investigative and covert investigative actions upon written orders of an investigator, inquirer or prosecutor. NABU units — only upon written orders of a detective or prosecutor of the SAPO.

The draft law gives the SAPO prosecutor the right to declare a certain case under investigation by the NABU by his resolution if the criminal offense has caused or could cause serious consequences for human rights or state interests. In this case, NABU detectives will be able to investigate cases under investigation by other bodies, in agreement with the SAPO leadership.

If NABU internal control detects crimes related to corruption or abuse of power among its employees (except for the director and his deputies), such proceedings are investigated by NABU detectives.

In the event of a dispute as to which body is responsible for investigating a specific case, the decision is made by the head of the highest-level prosecutor's office. If the case is a case that may fall under the jurisdiction of the NABU, the dispute is resolved by the Prosecutor General or the head of the SAPO. If the case may fall under the jurisdiction of the BEB, only the Prosecutor General.

The draft law clarifies that in exceptional, urgent cases, a prosecutor, investigator, or investigator may enter a person's home or other property without a court order if it is related to saving people or the immediate pursuit of a suspect.

The prosecutor's decision to close a case against a specific suspect does not prevent the continuation of the investigation within the same criminal proceedings.

It is proposed to allow the extension of the pre-trial investigation period up to 12 months by decision of the investigating judge, if the relevant motion is approved by the Prosecutor General or his deputies.

The initiative also clarifies the procedure for approving a plea agreement in cases investigated by the NABU. Such an agreement is concluded with mandatory approval from the SAPO leadership if it concerns misdemeanors, minor, serious or especially serious crimes.

The draft law establishes a special procedure for criminal proceedings against the Director of the NABU and his employees. Notification of suspicion to a People's Deputy, a presidential candidate, the Commissioner for Human Rights, heads of the NABU, prosecutors of the SAPO and other high-ranking officials is carried out by the Prosecutor General or the Head of the SAPO.

The draft law also establishes the independence of SAPO prosecutors. The Prosecutor General, his first deputy and deputies will not have the right to give instructions to SAPO prosecutors or otherwise interfere in their work. Administrative orders on the organization of the SAPO's work are issued only with the consent of its head.

At the same time, the draft law proposes to introduce additional security measures to verify the integrity and loyalty of employees of key law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies. In particular, it is proposed that the internal control units of the NABU, SAPO, BEB, the Prosecutor General's Office, the State Bureau of Investigation and the National Police conduct a polygraph (lie detector) check of their employees who have access to state secrets at least once every two years. Such studies will be carried out according to the methodology agreed with the SBU and are aimed at identifying possible actions in favor of the aggressor state.

At the same time, the draft law proposes to oblige the Security Service of Ukraine, within six months from the date of entry into force of the law, to conduct an inspection of all such employees — that is, those who have access to state secrets in the specified bodies — for their possible cooperation with the aggressor state.

The document also obliges the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Justice to intensify work on the search and return to Ukraine of persons who are hiding abroad from investigation, trial or punishment. If necessary, within three months from the date of entry into force of the law, they must, together with the Cabinet of Ministers, prepare and submit to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration relevant amendments to the legislation in order to increase the effectiveness of extradition cooperation with other states.

The new presidential bill also proposes to exclude a number of norms from the current legislation that provide for special powers of the Prosecutor General and the application of a special procedure for criminal proceedings to certain categories of officials.

In particular, it is proposed to exclude the provisions that granted the Prosecutor General (or a person performing his duties) the right to designate the first deputies and deputies of the Prosecutor General, in particular the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, as prosecutors in a specific criminal proceeding. The norm that allowed their powers to be delegated to other prosecutors - exclusively by decision of the Prosecutor General - is also removed.

The initiative also eliminates the provision that disputes regarding the jurisdiction of NABU or the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine are resolved by the Prosecutor General. This eliminates the potential risk of administrative interference in determining the jurisdiction of anti-corruption jurisdiction cases.

In addition, the bill repeals the provision that allowed participants in the proceedings to file motions directly with the Prosecutor General to close criminal proceedings in cases involving top state and local government officials, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and heads of state-owned enterprises. This is aimed at preventing political or administrative influence on the completion of such investigations.

It is also proposed to eliminate the provision that provided for the application of a special procedure for criminal proceedings to such officials as the Prime Minister, ministers, their deputies, the leadership of the NACP, the State Bureau of Investigation, the State Anti-Corruption Bureau, senior civil servants (category A) and other high-ranking officials. This decision aims to ensure equality of all before the law and prevent abuse of special procedural guarantees.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office stated that Bill No. 13533 submitted by President Volodymyr Zelensky restores all guarantees of the independence of these organizations.

"Bill 13533, submitted by the President of Ukraine as an urgent measure, restores all procedural powers and guarantees of independence of the NABU and the SAPO," the NABU and SAP reports state.

NABU and SAPO participated in the preparation of the text and call on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt the President's initiative as a basis and in its entirety as soon as possible.

"This will prevent threats to criminal proceedings being investigated by NABU and SAPO," the anti-corruption authorities emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported, on July 22 the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on reducing the powers of the NABU and the SAPO (No. 12414). On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed it. People's Deputies initiated the collection of signatures and the preparation of a submission to the Constitutional Court regarding this law.

On July 23, Zelensky statedthathe would propose to the Verkhovna Rada a bill that would include all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions. Meanwhile, protests against this law are ongoing in Kyiv and other cities across the country.

Against the backdrop of these events, the People's Deputy from the Holos parliamentary faction Yaroslav Yurchyshyn reported that the Verkhovna Rada is registering a parliamentary bill on the restoration of the independence of the NABU and the SAPO. In turn, Zelenskyy reportedthat he had approved the text of the new bill on the independence of anti-corruption bodies.