Ukraine Backtracks on Anti-Graft Agency Crackdown 

The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday backed a bill to restore the independence of two major anti-graft agencies, marking a major reversal in policy following protests and pressure from the European Union over a law passed last week that would have sharply cut the power of the agencies to tackle state corruption, long an issue in the country, Reuters reported. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted the bill almost immediately after mass protests erupted over the controversial law to curtail the power of the graft agencies to ease a political crisis and restore trust in his wartime leadership. Even so, the demonstrations this week, in defiance of a protest ban, marked a rare display of dissent. 

Protesters also gathered near parliament before Thursday’s vote to pressure lawmakers into passing the new bill, bursting into applause afterwards.  

The controversial law would have essentially eliminated the independence of two anti-corruption law enforcement bodies in conducting investigations – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). 

Analysts said the government backtracked out of fear it would jeopardize funding from allies for its fight against Russia.  

Also, the EU had warned Ukraine that such a law was jeopardizing its bid for EU membership, as tackling corruption and strengthening the rule of law are key conditions to joining the bloc, which many Ukrainians view as fundamental to securing their future amid the ongoing Russian invasion.  

The same lawmakers who had approved the previous bill 263 to 26 reversed course, unanimously passing the new legislation 331 to 0. On Thursday, Zelenskyy signed it into law. 

Critics alleged that the previous law, moved through the legislative process by Zelenskyy’s ruling party in just one day, had been signed to protect Zelenskyy’s allies from prosecution – several current and also former lawmakers are subjects of NABU investigations, Politico noted.