MAIN ACTORS IN ANTI-CORRUPTION REFORM IN UKRAINE

Corruption has long been regarded as Ukraine’s major problem and the subject of much debate, both nationally and internationally. According to the 2018 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by Transparency International drawing on surveys of businesspeople and expert assessments, Ukraine is ranked 120 out of 180 countries. And although Ukraine’s ranking keeps improving every year, such a state of affairs is still far from being acceptable. According to numerous analytical reports and surveys, it is corruption that poses the biggest problem for both foreign and domestic businesses. Among the apparent problems triggered by high levels of bribery and abuse of office are destruction of the system of social values and absolute distrust in public authorities, which ultimately result in negative economic consequences, increase inequality and slow down household income growth. Low integrity of some public officials, abuse of authority, lack of critical attitude of most Ukrainians towards petty corruption and perception of bribery as an efficient means of solving problems are among the main factors contributing to corruption and adding complexity to its eradication.

Implementation of Reform

1. The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
2. The National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC): Established in 2015, the NAPC has the key responsibility of developing and implementing the national anti-corruption strategy. However, it has been the source of controversy and scandal since its establishment, amid allegations that its leadership is not politically independent and that it sabotaged the process for verifying the asset declarations of state and local government officials. It has not been possible to check the declarations using automated software and the NAPC has not initiated investigations against any senior officials of note. The IMF and the EU have been pushing hard to rectify the situation but it is clear that the agency has not established credibility. To do so will require changing its leadership and ‘re-booting’ the entire organization. This is essential given its wider responsibilities, including the enforcement of rules on the financing of political parties. It has also failed to vet proposed legislation for corruption risks that is essential for preventing new possibilities for corruption. Ultimately, willingness to reform the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, along with other government bodies such as the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine (SFS) that are instruments of informal control in the limited access order, is a reliable barometer of progress in terms of broader systemic change. The public only has control over the state to the extent that it has control over the agents of force. So far, there is little progress in these areas. As a result, Ukraine is only at the beginning of the process of establishing rule of law.
3. The Prosecutor’s General Office (PGO)
4. The Specialized Anti Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO)
5. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU): The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are unprecedented new institutions, created in 2015 with the participation of civil society and donor countries. The rigorous staff selection procedures for both and the efforts of civil society backed by international partners to ensure their institutional independence have produced agencies made from a different fabric from the rest of the law enforcement system. NABU has faced increasing attacks and has sometimes found itself at war with the PGO and the SBU, and it has generally retained a reputation as a ‘clean’ organization.
6. The State Fiscal Service of Ukraine (SFS)
7. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)
8. The State Bureau of Investigations
9. The National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA)
10. The European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine.
11. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
12. The United Nations Development Program
13. Transparency International Ukraine
14. EIDOS
15. International Renaissance Foundation