The Verkhovna Rada will consider a bill on the “de facto destruction” of NABU and SAPO

Today, the Verkhovna Rada is expected to consider a draft law aimed at limiting the powers of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP).

This was initially reported by MPs Yaroslav Zheleznyak and Anastasia Radina, and later confirmed by the anti-corruption agencies themselves.

MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak from the Holos party stated that an amendment is being proposed to draft law No. 12414, which has already passed its first reading and introduces changes to the Criminal Code. The amendment would effectively subordinate NABU to the Prosecutor General and allow for the transfer of NABU cases to other law enforcement bodies during martial law. SAP, he added, would be reduced to mere “figurehead generals.”

Later, NABU and SAP published an official statement criticizing the draft law, warning that it “could destroy the independence of the anti-corruption system in Ukraine.”

They confirmed the MPs’ assessment that the new amendments would “effectively eliminate the independence of SAP and subordinate the activities of NABU and SAP to the Prosecutor General,” because:

• The Prosecutor General would gain access to all NABU cases or could grant such access to any other prosecutor;

• They would have the right to issue binding written instructions to NABU detectives, and in case of non-compliance, reassign the case to other agencies;

• They could close investigations upon the request of the defense;

• They would have sole authority to resolve jurisdictional disputes;

• They would independently sign indictments against top officials;

• The SAP head would lose the right to join the prosecutors’ group — that decision would rest solely with the Prosecutor General.

It is also worth recalling that yesterday, reports emerged that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General’s Office were conducting mass searches of NABU detectives.