We Urge the Office of the President to Refrain from Interfering with the Work of Anti-Corruption Agencies

The NABU and the SAPO have published the results of another special anti-corruption operation at the highest level. According to the investigators, a group of individuals, including a deputy head of the Office of the President, a former MP, the chair of the board and the chair of the supervisory board of a state-owned bank, have organized legalization of UAH 150 million in cash to bail out one of the individuals involved in the Midas case.

According to media reports, the tapes featured Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra, former MP Maksym Mykytas, and others.

Transparency International Ukraine strongly believes that the points voiced on the recordings attest to the fact that the government is trying to interfere in the work of anti-corruption agencies, to sabotage their activities, and to undermine their independence.

This is confirmed by the following facts provided by the NABU.

1. The Deputy Head of the Office of the President spoke about the need to have insiders in the SAPO and other anti-corruption agencies.

In particular, she spoke about creating a “staff reserve” for future competitive recruitment for anti-corruption agencies, asking to facilitate the election of the “right” members for the Public Oversight Council under the NABU. 

The official complains about the head of the SAPO being difficult to reach an agreement with, pointing out potential negative consequences if Klymenko were to be re-elected as Head of SAPO, and mentions that her team has no “reserve” for positions in anti-corruption and other agencies. 

It can thus be concluded that high-ranking officials in the Office of the President are already planning to continue their attempts to plant insiders into anti-corruption agencies.

2. The Deputy Head of the Office of the President and other individuals were planning to collect funds to bail out a person involved in the Midas case bypassing the law. 

The individuals featured in the tapes are discussing a plan to collect UAH 150 million in cash to bail out a suspect in the Midas case, Herman Halushchenko. To this end, they have presumably used the state-owned Sense Bank to legalize the funds. 

Thus, representatives of the Office of the President are likely using existing powers to circumvent anti-laundering legislation.  

This indicates that the cleansing or reboot of the authorities, announced to the international partners, has failed as of now: the President’s inner circle continues to use their powers to support individuals under investigation for grand corruption. Even the urgent dismissal of Iryna Mudra from her position as Deputy Head of the Office of the President is insufficient to prove otherwise. 

Transparency International Ukraine emphasizes that the current means of supporting anti-corruption agencies are lacking. 

Therefore, we call on the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Verkhovna Rada:

•  to refrain from actions that could be interpreted as pressure on anti-corruption bodies;
• to fulfill the undertaken European integration obligations, particularly the ones set forth in the so-called Kachka-Kos plan;
• to refrain from interfering in existing criminal proceedings on grand corruption at the highest level;
• to ensure continued participation of international experts in selection commissions for high-profile positions.

Operation Forrest Gump is among those cases that best explain why independence of the anti-corruption infrastructure cannot become a bargaining chip.