Which MPs Voted to Undermine NABU and SAPO’s Independence Despite Conflicts of Interest?

On 22 July, the Verkhovna Rada voted to roll back key achievements in building independent anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine. The decision was supported by 263 Members of Parliament.

For some MPs, this vote became a «matter of honor», as they were, or still are, subjects of NABU and SAPO investigations. We have previously shown how campaign promises made by MPs often diverge from their actual actions.

Today, we are seeing something similar: at least 19 Members of Parliament who were implicated in NABU cases and acted in a clear conflict of interest by pressing the green button in favor of Draft Law No. 12414.

MPs who are suspects or defendants in NABU cases

There are currently nine Members of Parliament under active NABU investigations or facing corruption charges. The range of allegations is broad — from bribery to unlawful enrichment and misappropriation of state assets:

1. Anatolii Hunko — MP from the Restoration of Ukraine group. The first-instance HACC found him guilty of accepting an $85,000 bribe (with an additional $136,000 promised) in exchange for facilitating the lease of hundreds of hectares of state land. The verdict is under appeal.
2. Liudmyla Marchenko — MP from the Servant of the People party, allegedly accepted a $5,300 bribe to facilitate illegal border crossing. The case is currently in court.
3. Andrii Klochko — MP from Servant of the People, allegedly unlawfully enriched himself by over UAH 11.3 million, according to NABU and SAPO. The case is currently in court.
4. Oleksandr Yurchenko — MP from Restoration of Ukraine, caught accepting a $13,000 bribe for himself and promising $200,000 for fellow MPs in exchange for passing (notably!) a «favorable law» on waste management. The case is currently in court.
5. Dmytro Isaienko — MP from Restoration of Ukraine, charged with attempting to seize 8 hectares of Kyiv land designated for a park. The case is currently in court.
6. Serhii Labaziuk — MP from the For the Future party, allegedly offered a $150,000 bribe to the Head of the State Agency for Recovery to secure infrastructure reconstruction contracts for his companies. The case is currently in court.
7. Serhii Kuzminykh — MP from Servant of the People, accused of accepting a UAH 558,000 bribe from a company representative for facilitating victory in a tender for the procurement of ultrasound systems. The case is currently in court.
8. Robert Horvath — MP from the Trust group, to be tried for alleged misappropriation of 320 hectares of land in Zakarpattia worth UAH 127 million, based on NABU and SAPO case materials. The case is now in court.
9. Mykola Zadorozhnii — MP from Servant of the People, allegedly solicited a UAH 3.4 million bribe to facilitate unimpeded use of funds for water supply repair in Sumy region. The NABU investigation is ongoing.

MPs whose NABU cases were closed

Six MPs had cases closed due to statute of limitations, mostly related to false asset declarations. These include: Mykhailo Volynets, Marharyta Shol, Serhii Nahorniak, Iryna Konstankevych, Yurii Kamelchuk, and Maksym Pashkovskyi. The latter two were acquitted by the first-instance HACC, while the appeals court closed the cases due to expiration of statutory deadlines. Statute of limitations remains one of the main reasons why cases are closed without a final judgment.

Two more MPs, Olha Saladukha and Volodymyr Hevko, confessed and were thus exempted from liability.

The case against Pavlo Khalimon was closed due to lack of evidence for suspicion.

The final name on the list, Mykola Babenko, initially received suspicion for illegal enrichment and false declaration, but the NABU later dropped the case, finding no elements of a crime.

Why this is a conflict of interest

All of these 19 MPs (at least) voted in favor of Draft Law No. 12414 despite having been previously charged or investigated by NABU and SAPO — a clear conflict of interest. This is a direct violation of the Verkhovna Rada’s Rules of Procedure, which require an MP to publicly declare a conflict of interest. No such declarations were made during the 22 July session, as verified by session broadcasts.

This is not a minor issue. The motive for revenge — either for NABU/SAPO filing an indictment or for trying to stall an investigation — becomes especially clear in these cases.

The adoption of Law No. 4555-IX allows MPs under investigation to influence proceedings all the way through to case closure. Those whose cases are already in court will now be able to strike highly favorable plea agreements, approved not by SAPO, but by the Prosecutor General.

It remains to be seen whether the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, which is responsible for monitoring compliance with conflict of interest legislation, including by MPs, will respond. So far, the Agency has made no public statement on the matter.

We are convinced that these 19 MPs are not the only ones who acted in a conflict of interest. Parliament likely includes others who have not yet been charged but understand that dismantling the independence of the NABU and the SAPO today could protect them from corruption allegations tomorrow.