The NABU Shows the Best Progress among Anti-Corruption Agencies — a Study by Transparency International Ukraine

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau improved its score by 0.7 points — the largest increase among anti-corruption infrastructure bodies. Now its score is 4.3 points, in contrast to 3.6 points in 2020.

This was published by Transparency International Ukraine in the Study of Capacity, Governance, and Interaction of Agencies That Make Up Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Infrastructure 2023, conducted with the support of the USAID project “Supporting Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions” (SACCI). 

After our previous research, the NABU implemented 5 of our recommendations, partially implemented 2, while 5 recommendations were not implemented, and 3 lost relevance.

However, the NABU still has some room for improvement. Based on the second research track, TI Ukraine’s experts advise implementing the following priority steps to boost the NABU’s work:

• Establish and include the NABU expertise service into the list of specialized state institutions. 
• Allocate budget funding to create and equip the expertise service of the NABU.
• Develop and coordinate technical requirements and decisions regarding independent interception by the NABU.
• Determine the criteria and methodology of external independent assessment (audit) of the Bureau’s performance.
• Establish assessment criteria for the performance of verification of NABU workers for integrity and lifestyle monitoring, as well as regarding the verification of information contained in applications by individuals and legal entities.

The full list of 16 recommendations can be found in the study.

“The NABU demonstrates that it is a stable, effective, and independent institution, capable of handling the tasks assigned to it. The Bureau also demonstrates growth and regular implementation of best practices in its work, which affects the results of the entire anti-corruption system. We hope that the Agency will maintain positive dynamics and implement the recommendations provided!” says deputy executive director of TI Ukraine for legal affairs Kateryna Ryzhenko.

The NABU is a law enforcement agency which combats grand corruption offenses by high-ranking officials. The bureau consists of a central office and three regional divisions, with a total of over 600 employees. The NABU considers its mission to cleanse the government of corruption to build and develop a successful society and an effective state. 

Over more than 2 years, the primary legislative framework of the NABU’s activity has improved, but the level of material and technical support has decreased due to insufficient funding of the body. The National Bureau was recently provided with a new leader — Semen Kryvonos was selected in 2022. 

The HACC obtained the best score at 4.6 points, while the ARMA had the worst result 3.4 points. Of the 103 recommendations made in the 2020 study, the agencies implemented 23, partially implemented 36, and did not implement 41. 

The study covers the period from August 2020 to June 2023.

Anti-corruption agencies, namely the NACP, the NABU, the SAPO, the ARMA, and the HACC, were assessed on a scale from 1 to 5. 

The research methodology has been developed taking into account the main approaches of the National Integrity System (NIS), developed and implemented by the international anti-corruption network Transparency International. 

The draft study was provided to anti-corruption infrastructure agencies for preliminary perusal, comments, and corrections.

This research was made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the SACCI project. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

For reference: The Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions (SACCI) Program in Ukraine is a six-year USAID initiative that has an objective to assist Ukraine to reduce corruption and increase the accountability and transparency of governance in Ukraine. The program seeks to empower key government institutions to fight corruption, build public support for and engagement in anti-corruption efforts, and reduce citizen tolerance to corruption, as well as ensure maximum transparency and accountability of Ukraine’s post-war recovery and reconstruction.

Transparency International Ukraine is an accredited chapter of the global movement Transparency International, helping Ukraine grow stronger since 2012. The organization takes a comprehensive approach to the development and implementation of changes for reduction of corruption levels in certain areas.

TI Ukraine helped create and subsequently transferred Prozorro, Prozorro.Sale, eHealth, and Prozvitsystems to the state. The team also implemented City Transparency and Accountability Rankings, developed the DOZORRO community to control public procurement, and co-founded the RISE UACoalition, which protects integrity and efficiency in the rebuilding process.