International outrage and protests in Ukraine have followed Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to sign a law that critics say will undermine the independence of the country's anti-corruption agencies. The bill has been sharply criticized by many prominent figures in Ukrainian civil society and public life, including those known abroad, but international institutions supporting Ukraine are also not too pleased.
But what is in the law?
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian parliament passed and Volodymyr Zelensky signed an amendment to the anti-corruption law that places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Prosecutor's Office (SZAP), which have been operating as independent institutions until now, under the authority of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, considered an ally of
Zelensky. This means that both organizations will be subject to instructions from the prosecutor's office, and the Prosecutor General can redirect cases to other investigators or even close them at his discretion.
The new law authorizes the Prosecutor General to delegate the powers of the Prosecutor General's Office to other prosecutors, request the documents of any case and transfer them to other prosecutors. He can issue binding written instructions to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and transfer the criminal proceedings it conducts to other investigative authorities. Zelensky justified the amendment to the law on his Telegram channel by saying that it is necessary to eliminate Russian influence in organizations. Semyon Krivonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, said the following about the amendment to the law: “Now the anti-corruption infrastructure has been practically destroyed. What we created at the request of the Maidan protests in 2014, based on the needs of society, to combat high-level corruption. Today it has been destroyed, including with the participation of persons against whom the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office itself has brought charges.”
How big a problem is corruption in Ukraine?
The recently appointed new Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Svidirenko, has argued that corruption is not such a big problem in Ukraine. Of course, considering that the country has been fighting a literal life-and-death battle against Russia for three and a half years, it really isn't. But if we put the war aside for a moment, corruption has traditionally been a serious problem. In fact, according to those familiar with the Ukrainian military industry, the situation has perhaps gotten worse because of the maximization of war profits, in some ways undermining the war effort.
Western criticisms and dilemmas
Historically, Ukraine’s Western partners – the United States and the European Union – have played a key role in pressuring the Ukrainian leadership to reform, especially in the areas of anti-corruption and the rule of law, with their financial support. The formula was simple: Western money in exchange for democratic reforms. Among other things, the independent Ukrainian anti-corruption system was created ten years ago under their pressure and supervision.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, however, support has come to the fore, while demands for reform have receded. And when the situation is already uncomfortable due to Zelensky’s constant requests for but not granted arms deliveries, the West is not really holding Ukraine accountable for its failure to deliver. To put it simply, the attitude has become that support for Ukrainian democracy can wait until after the war. If there is no war, the Western community would most likely have reacted by halting or suspending aid to Ukraine; IMF payments, for example, would have been blocked upon hearing such news. But since the European community, with few but well-known exceptions, essentially agrees that Ukrainians also protect European countries, it is extremely difficult – almost impossible – to make this decision. It is still unclear what kind of reaction Ukraine’s Western supporters will have to the amendment of the anti-corruption law. But rather than stopping the aid, it is more likely that it will continue to flow, because Europe has its own interest in financing Ukraine's defense.
