Members of the Law Enforcement Committee considered draft law No. 12414, which could deprive the NABU and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine) of their independence, without a comparative table of amendments for the second reading. Therefore, they voted blindly.
This was reported by Yuliia Yatsyk, an independent member of parliament and chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedure Legislation and Operational-Investigative Activities of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement, in a comment to Ukrinform.
According to her, the Law Enforcement Committee met on the morning of July 22.
“The law enforcement committee was convened in the morning for literally five minutes, voted on the amendment number, and closed [the committee meeting]. And the content [of the voted amendment] was not actually discussed. How they gathered and how they announced the committee meeting is questionable,” Yatsyk said.
She emphasized that the meeting was chaired by the deputy chairman of the committee, Maksym Pavliuk. Thus, the members of the law enforcement committee voted to recommend that the Verkhovna Rada adopt in the second reading the draft law “On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Regarding the Specifics of Pre-trial Investigation of Criminal Offenses related to the disappearance of persons under special circumstances in conditions of martial law” No. 12414.
“There was no general table of amendments. Many members of the law enforcement committee did not understand [what they were voting for], because they did not see the content of the amendment as a whole. Therefore, they simply voted “on the word” – for what was discussed. But it turned out that there were other amendments. Therefore, even those MPs from the law enforcement committee who supported the bill in the committee may not vote for the law itself in the chamber,” Yatsyk added.
At the same time, she believes that there will be enough votes in the Rada to deprive NABU of its independence.
“I spoke with some representatives of the factions. The average temperature in the chamber is that there are votes in the Rada. I will not support the bill. After all, this is essentially authoritarian rule. But those deputies who have criminal cases with NABU or those who have some controversial issues or investigations by NABU will support this story. I don’t know how the opposition will vote, but there are votes in the Rada,” she added.
As reported by Ukrinform, earlier on July 22, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced on Telegram that bill 12414 on the specifics of pre-trial investigation of criminal offenses related to the disappearance of persons under special circumstances during martial law had been added to the agenda of the parliamentary session.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada’s anti-corruption committee, Anastasia Radina, emphasized on Facebook that amendments had been added to bill No. 12414 that “make the SAP a decorative institution and provide for the complete dependence of the NABU and SAP on the will of the prosecutor general.”
For their part, NABU and SAP issued an official statement on bill No. 12414, calling on MPs to refrain from voting, which “could finally destroy the independence of the anti-corruption system in Ukraine.”
The agencies reminded that today the Verkhovna Rada may adopt in the second reading draft law No. 12414, to which amendments were made at the last minute that effectively destroy the independence of the SAP and subordinate the activities of the NABU and SAP to the Prosecutor General. If this bill is passed, the head of the SAP will become a nominal figure, and the NABU will lose its independence and become a subdivision of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the statement said.
The day before, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General conducted at least 70 searches of employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. In the vast majority of cases, the searches were justified by the involvement of individuals in traffic accidents, but some employees were accused of possible ties to the aggressor country.
The ambassadors of the G7 countries expressed concern over the SBU’s investigation into the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, during which a suspect with ties to Russia was exposed.
Photo: Facebook / Yuliia Yatsyk
Source: Draft law on NABU considered by parliamentary committee without comparative table, says MP
