Since January 1, amendments concerning protection of corruption whistleblowers have come into effect. Transparency International Ukraine has reiterated the need for a specialized law numerous times. It is an important anti-corruption tool, which has proven effective worldwide.

Since 2020, the government guarantees the following to whistleblowers:

– confidentiality and anonymity;
– ensuring the safety of the whistleblower and their family members;
– free legal and psychological aid;
– reimbursement of lawyer fees;
– reward of up to 10% under certain circumstances;
– prohibition of discrimination.

“Previous guarantees of whistleblowers’ protection were quite restricted and more theoretical. Whistleblowers often couldn’t exercise their rights and receive the necessary protection, facing the system alone instead. This law is the first step. Whistleblowers in the spheres of human rights violations, environmental protection, food safety, etc., need protection as well,” says TI Ukraine’s legal advisor Oleksandr Kalitenko.

Strong legislation on protection of whistleblowers works in several aspects at once: the corrupt account before the law, budget receives revenue, crimes are solved, the country improves its rank in the Corruption Perceptions Index, and the whistleblower gets a reward.

Recall that on August 29, 2019, the President filed urgent draft law No. 1010 on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Corruption Prevention” concerning corruption whistleblowers. On October 17, the Parliament passed it in the second reading and overall.

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Transparency International Ukraine is an accredited chapter of the global movement Transparency International with a comprehensive approach to development and implementation of changes for reduction of the corruption levels. 

TI Ukraine has administered and transferred to the government such electronic systems as ProZorro, ProZorro.Sale, eHealth, and E-Data. Our other ongoing projects include the City Transparency Ranking and building of the DOZORRO community for control over public procurement.

For media inquiries Olesia Koval, [email protected], 093-808-82-78.