NABU and SAPO: Draft Law 12414 “Effectively Destroy Our Independence”

Today, Ukraine’s Parliament is set to consider Draft Law No. 12414 in its second reading, now with last-minute amendments that, according to official statements by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), would effectively eliminate their independence and subordinate their work to the Prosecutor General.

The key amendments would allow the Prosecutor General to:

• Access any NABU case, or grant such access to any other prosecutor;
• Issue binding written orders to NABU detectives and, if disobeyed, change jurisdiction by transferring the case to another law enforcement agency;
• Close investigations upon the request of the defense;
• Unilaterally resolve jurisdictional disputes;
• Personally sign notices of suspicion against top officials;
• Remove the SAP head from investigative teams, with the Prosecutor General becoming the sole authority in such decisions.

NABU warns that these changes would render the SAP director a purely symbolic figure and reduce NABU to a subordinate unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

“Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure, built since 2015, would be dismantled,” NABU and SAP stated.

“We urge lawmakers to refrain from supporting legislation that would destroy the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption system.”

EMPR