Ukraine’s parliament has passed controversial legislation that significantly undermines the autonomy of the country’s two leading anti-corruption institutions - the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Lawmakers voted on July 22 to approve amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, giving sweeping powers to the prosecutor general over investigations traditionally led by NABU and SAPO. Critics of the bill, including watchdogs and opposition MPs, say the move effectively destroys the agencies’ independence and threatens Ukraine’s broader anti-corruption framework.

A total of 263 lawmakers voted in favor of draft law No. 12414 during its second reading, while 13 opposed it and another 13 abstained. The measure was supported by MPs from multiple factions, including 185 from the ruling Servant of the People party, as well as members from Fatherland, Platform for Life and Peace, Restoration of Ukraine, Dovira, and others. Only one lawmaker from the ruling faction - Anastasiia Radina, head of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee - spoke out against the bill publicly, warning it amounted to dismantling NABU and SAPO and turning the anti-corruption prosecutor's office into a fiction.

The legislation, which was rushed through committee and plenary procedures within a single day, now awaits the signature of President Volodymyr Zelensky. It has already been signed by Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk. The president has the authority to veto it, and agency heads have appealed to him to do so.

The bill introduces several new powers for the prosecutor general. These include the ability to issue binding instructions to NABU investigators, reassign investigations to other pretrial agencies, and transfer SAPO’s prosecutorial authority to other prosecutors. Furthermore, the prosecutor general may now retrieve and reassign case materials, and close NABU-led investigations at the request of the legal defense. Ruslan Kravchenko, recently appointed to the post, is widely seen as close to President Zelensky.

The heads of NABU and SAPO have condemned the legislation in the strongest terms. NABU Director Semen Kryvonos warned the law would not only subjugate the agencies to political oversight but also compromise Ukraine’s alignment with Euro-Atlantic institutions. SAPO chief Oleksandr Klymenko echoed that sentiment, stating the bill signals the effective end of two previously independent bodies tasked with prosecuting high-level corruption. Ahead of the vote, NABU had cautioned that Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure, built since 2015, was at risk of being dismantled.

The vote comes amid a wave of pressure on the two agencies, including aggressive legal actions. Just a day before the parliamentary vote, on July 21, joint raids were carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the State Bureau of Investigation, targeting NABU and SAPO personnel. According to NABU, three of its detectives were injured during these searches, which allegedly involved the use of excessive physical force. Kryvonos claimed that those injured faced coordinated efforts to prevent medical documentation of their wounds, with pressure applied to hospital administrators to refuse treatment.

A total of 80 searches were conducted targeting 19 NABU employees across several regions. Authorities justified the absence of court warrants by citing operational security and concerns about information leaks. The charges leveled at the detectives span treason, ties to pro-Russian networks, drug trafficking, and corruption linked to oligarchs. One employee was detained on suspicion of spying for Russia. In parallel, the State Bureau of Investigation revived a case involving a car accident from several years ago, allegedly involving NABU staff. Investigators have also begun reviewing state secrecy protections within SAPO, especially regarding employees involved in covert operations or with access to classified information.

Kryvonos has rejected attempts to cast the raids as legitimate clean-up operations, instead viewing them as politically motivated efforts to intimidate leadership at both NABU and SAPO. While acknowledging the importance of rooting out genuine misconduct, he stated that this must not be used as a pretext to erode institutional independence.

The developments have triggered concern from Ukraine’s Western partners. The European Union issued a statement stressing that the independence of NABU and SAPO is essential to Ukraine’s reform agenda. Guillaume Mercier, spokesperson for the European Commission, noted that while the EU is not currently considering suspending financial assistance to Kyiv, it has mechanisms in place to assess such matters if necessary. He emphasized that ongoing EU support depends on demonstrable progress in judicial reform, transparency, and democratic governance.

The Group of Seven ambassadors also voiced alarm over the security services’ actions against NABU, expressing unease about what they perceive as an emerging campaign against Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure. Earlier this month, the country’s most prominent anti-corruption advocate, Vitaliy Shabunin, was charged with fraud and evasion of military service - accusations he denies. Observers see this as part of a broader trend of escalating pressure on reform-oriented individuals and institutions.

Sources:

• Ukrainska Pravda
• The Kyiv Independent
• RBC-Ukraine