Ukraine on the hook of international partners: MPs propose appointing the director of the State Bureau of Investigation through international experts

A draft law, bill number 13602, has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, which proposes a “reboot” of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) with the participation of international experts.

The initiators of this bill include members of parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Anastasia Radina, Yaroslav Yurchishin, Vladimir Tsabal, and others.

The main focus of the bill is on reforming the SBI according to principles derived from successful models such as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP), and the Bureau of Economic Security (BES).

The proposal also suggests changing the status of the SBI from a law enforcement agency to a central executive body. Moreover, it proposes altering the process of appointing the head of the SBI: instead of being appointed by the President of Ukraine, as is the case now, the candidate for this position will be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, with the key decision-making role going to international experts delegated by Ukraine’s external partners. This step effectively strengthens external control over Ukraine’s internal processes, highlighting that the decision on the appointment will be made by a commission where the opinion of Ukrainian representatives will be of secondary importance.

Additionally, the deputies propose the re-certification of SBI employees, which would be carried out by certification commissions, with the deciding vote held by the same international experts. This resembles the procedure used during the appointment of the head of BES, Oleksandr Tsyvynskyi, in accordance with the law on the reform of that body, which also included the gradual re-certification of employees.

Thus, bill 13602 demonstrates the continued strengthening of Ukraine’s dependence on external management, including the active involvement of international partners in key personnel and management processes.