Why did Zelinski try to curb the autonomy of anti -corruption agencies in Ukraine? | Corruption news

Kyiv, Ukraine – Last week, hundreds of Ukrainians gathered in several cities to protest the government’s attempt to reduce the independence of anti -corruption control.

On July 22, President Foludmir Zelinski signed a bill in law, which would eliminate the independence of the main agencies-the National Office for Anti-Corruption in Ukraine (NABU) and the Office of the Public Prosecutor for Anti-Corruption (SAPO).

The rare protest in the country -torn country forced the Ukrainian president to submit a new bill to restore the independence of Nabo and Sabo, which was created to investigate high -level corruption and is widely seen as a symbol of democratic reforms.

So, why did Zelinski try to curb the powers of anti -corruption agencies, and will the public confidence in the government at the time of war against Russia?

Why do Ukrainians protest?

The protests erupted at the country level following the vote on July 22 in Virgoufna Rada, the lower parliament in Ukraine, to approve the draft law that allows the Prosecutor to supervise the Anti -Corruption Agency.

The prosecutor was appointed by the president and approved by Ferkhoufna Rada, where the Public Employee Party in Zelinski holds the majority.

The government considered an attempt to control the clients, which was established in the wake of the pro-democracy protests in the 2013-14. Many believe that it is a setback from the years of reforms in the wake of the removal of the pro -Russian President Victor Yanukovic in 2014.

The demonstrators made banners with slogans reading “Sham!” “It does not reach a step back, there is an abyss there,” and “neutralizing corruption” is the new draft law.

The gatherings took place in Kyiv as well as in large cities such as the port of Sea Black Sea of Odesa and LVIV, known as Ukraine’s cultural capital.

NABU has investigated a series of senior officials and legislators, including those in the Public Employee Party in Zelinski.

Olexi, who was recruited to join the army in 2022, asks why it continued to fight on the front lines of East Ukraine while officials participate in corruption.

“What is the point if I go home and my family surrounded by corruption everywhere,” 42 -year -old construction director told Al Jazerera.

He said, “Judges, officials, and even school teachers say,” Give, give, give, “, demanding the blocking of his last name and the details of his military service, according to the war protocol.

Oleksiy, a break from his service to visit his two children and his sick mother, participated in the largest anti -government marches in Ukraine since the full invasion of Russia in 2022.

Why did Zelinski support the bill?

The new law was calling for executive control of Nabu and SAPO as the Prosecutor’s Office that could access their information, give them binding directives, transfer cases and close investigations.

Nabo said the bill “could finally destroy the independence of the anti -corruption system in Ukraine.”

Rachel Dunber, European Deputy and Central Asian director in Human Rights Watch, said the new law “risks the weakness of democratic institutions in Ukraine and its future integration with Europe.” I called for the abolition of the law.

Zelenskyy, a former comedian and a political rising that reached power in 2019 on the anti -corruption ticket, defended the law, claiming that Nabu and Sapo “get rid of Russian influence.”

His claim was followed by the arrest of two NABU employees suspected of working in Russian intelligence, and accused accusations against the explicit activist to combat corruption.

Two young men were accused of “evading military service”, but his supporters fired on charges, and nearly 60 groups of corruption and non -governmental occurred on a joint call in his defense.

One of the political analysts in Kyiv says there are two popular theories about the reason for Zelinski the draft law.

“One of them is that Nabo has been closed in the Zeleski inner circle,” Voludmir Vicenco, head of the Gazerera Penthore Center, told Al Jazerara.

Nabo accused Deputy Prime Minister Olexi Chirnishov, the closest ally of Zelinski and his friend for life, through beliefs of $ 346,000 from a real estate developer in a deal that cost the government 24 million dollars.

Zelenskyy’s press office did not respond to phone calls and text messages to Al Jazeera.

“Or this is an attempt to control Nabu’s actions so that they do not politicize them publicly, not to raise local political wars during the war with Russia,” Vicenco said.

He said: “But I believe that it is about activating Nabu on political issues that have caused doubt about the Zelinski inner circle. It was not a battle against corruption but more than a political attack on Zelinski.”

The protests, an expert in anti -corruption, told Al -Jazeera, the weakest support of Zelinski within the local political circles. “There was a belief in its high and stable classification,” said Titiana Chevchuk of the Anti -Corruption Center, a group based in Kiev.

But “he can no longer claim anything from Parliament.”

She said that Zelinski is afraid of Nabo as the only law for law enforcement that will not open or close an investigation after a phone call from his administration, in reference to the centralization of power under his leadership.

“Nabo is the only body that does not do it,” she said.

Vicenko of the Daban of the Benta Thought says that the politicians “reduced” the “negative consequences” of the draft law. “They did not think that the general response would be cruel.”

Zelenskyy promised to introduce the new draft law-a step of its applause to combat corruption in the country.

However, Semeen Kryvonos, Nabu’s director, said that corrupt actors will make a “dirty information campaign” against illegal control agencies.

Meanwhile, protest leaders say they will not stop the marches until after passing the bill – initially, later this week.

Since the pro -democracy revolution for the year 2014 or the revolution of dignity, attempts have been made to clarify settlement corruption.

Many bureaucratic procedures have been simplified, less time, money and nerves.

But corruption is still widespread in justice halls. Ukraine ranks 105 out of 180 in the corruption index in international transparency.

The criminal investigator, who spent months in collecting a series of lawsuits against the fraud of deception of dozens of people, including many legislators, told Al -Jazeera that the corrupt judge can cancel his work and may liberate the fraud.

“We cannot guarantee the sincerity of any judge,” the investigator said, provided that his identity is not disclosed.

Meanwhile, the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II has generated new forms of corruption.

Some officers report bribes to allow the service to go out or go to the hospital, or cool out external aid such as canned foods, clothes or shoes that end on store shelves instead of the confrontation line.

“If someone reports such an officer, they may end up in a suicide bomber on zero position,” he claimed the alleged service in the protests, referring to the front lines sites that are likely to be attacked by drones.

Officers assigned to Recruitment campaign They were accused of receiving bribes to smuggle people outside the country. Dozens of recruitment officers – some of which had millions of dollars, the euro, or even in gold alloys.

Defense Minister Olexi Raznikov was launched in 2023 after the scandals included inflated prices for military purchases, including ammunition, food, medical equipment and winter clothes.

Nabo said in January that Rosim Omrov was investigated by the abuse of the alleged power.

Will restrictions affect anti -corruption bodies on external aid?

The European Union said on Sunday that it will freeze $ 1.7 billion, which is a third of its latest assistance package for Ukraine, due to the new law.

Lieutenant -General Ihur Romano, the former deputy general employees of the armed forces, said military aid from the European Union and the United States is unlikely to be interrupted.

However, protests reveal shocking contrast among hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the front lines and corrupt officials who ignore the draft and continue to prosper for corruption.

“On the one hand, there are people who pour blood, and corruption remains high and even rises in certain areas, and people find it unacceptable,” Romano told Al -Jazeera.