Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies NABU, SAPO turn into puppet institutions, says MP
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Tue, 22 Jul 2025 18:20:00 +0300

Espreso correspondent Kateryna Halko reported this.On July 22, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a bill that sparked significant controversy among MPs. The document contains provisions that, according to many, significantly limit the powers of NABU and SAPO, subordinating their activities to the Prosecutor General.Zhelezniak reacted sharply to the decision, stating that it essentially dismantles the independence of the anti-corruption agencies.“In short, today the government, with its own votes, dismantled NABU and SAPO. Of course, legally something will remain, but in fact, they are no longer independent, and probably not even anti-corruption agencies anymore. They’re turning into another SBI, that is, a puppet law enforcement agency,” he emphasized.According to him, from now on, the activities of NABU and SAPO will be supervised by the Prosecutor General, who will have the authority to request any materials and information, as well as transfer cases to other law enforcement bodies, such as the State Investigation Bureau, SBU, or National Police.“Today they did what the previous government, and the ones before them, tried to do several times — but this time it worked, right on the sixth anniversary of this parliament,” the MP added.Despite his intention to submit a resolution to challenge the bill, Zhelezniak expressed doubt about its effectiveness, noting that today's decision was adopted with gross procedural violations, even leading to an attempt to remove the presiding officer.“As cynical or symbolic as it may sound, this bill was submitted on January 16. I think there’s a correlation between the intentions embedded in this law and what actually happened,” the MP explained.Zhelezniak noted that the Servant of the People faction did not provide any justification for the changes and refrained from public debate, instead “calmly pressed the green button.”“Frankly speaking, I’ve never seen Buzhansky so genuinely joyful. I’ll quote him from the chamber: ‘Now this is the kind of football I like.’ It's incredible that six years into their term, they still think that pushing green buttons is like football, not a responsibility they bear before the people of Ukraine during a full-scale war. I’m convinced this will cost us a lot of money now — even in terms of international aid,” the MP concluded.During the July 22 session, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill with provisions that limit the powers of NABU and SAPO and subordinate their work to the Prosecutor General.
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