Ukraine's Rada passes bill subordinating NABU, SAPO to Prosecutor General

The bill passed with 263 votes in favor, 13 against, and 13 abstentions.

Prior to the vote, the European Solidarity and Golos factions attempted to remove the bill from the agenda, but the motion gained only 53 votes, falling short of the required support.

Subsequently, an attempt to oust Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk for putting the bill to a vote despite procedural concerns was rejected, with only 23 votes in favor.

Lawmakers also tried to block the parliamentary rostrum to prevent the vote, but the legislature proceeded to approve each amendment to the bill individually.

What the bill entails?

Bill No. 12414, titled “On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Regarding the Specifics of Pre-Trial Investigation of Criminal Offenses Related to Missing Persons Under Special Circumstances During Martial Law,” originally aimed to adjust pre-trial investigation procedures for missing persons cases during wartime.

According to MP Anastasiya Radina, amendments added to the bill “render SAPO a decorative institution and fully subordinate the activities of NABU and SAPO to the will of the Prosecutor General.”

The bill grants the Prosecutor General the following powers:

• Access to all NABU cases or the ability to grant such access to other prosecutors;
• Authority to issue mandatory written instructions to NABU detectives and reassign cases to other agencies if instructions are not followed;
• Ability to close investigations at the request of the defense;
• Sole authority to resolve disputes over case jurisdiction;
• Exclusive power to sign suspicion notices for top officials;
• Removal of the SAPO head’s right to join groups of prosecutors, with the Prosecutor General making such decisions. lb.ua

NABU and SAPO issued a joint statement urging lawmakers not to vote for the bill, warning it could “completely destroy the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption system.”

More context

On July 21, searches were conducted at the premises of NABU and SAPO employees, with at least 70 searches reported by morning.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General claimed to have uncovered Russian influence within NABU, accusing certain employees of treason, illegal trade with Russia, and corrupt actions benefiting oligarchs.

Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, the head of NABU’s interregional detective units, was detained on suspicion of aiding Russia. Additionally, an NABU employee from the elite, secretive “D-2” unit was arrested in Kyiv on charges of spying for Russian intelligence.

Fedir Khrystenko, a current MP from the banned Opposition Platform-For Life party now hiding abroad, was identified as a key FSB agent allegedly responsible for enhancing Russian influence over NABU, according to investigators.

Three NABU employees were also charged in relation to traffic accidents, which NABU stated were unrelated incidents from years ago.

NABU reported that these investigative actions were conducted without court warrants. Simultaneously, the SBU initiated an unscheduled inspection of state secrets protection at NABU during a period when NABU and SAPO leadership were on official foreign trips. A routine inspection by the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, covering NABU’s technical infrastructure, was also underway.

SAPO claimed that SBU personnel conducted the inspection without formal notification, as required by law, and accessed information on all covert and operational measures and special operations conducted by NABU and SAPO.

The SBU denied these claims, stating it did not access such information and called allegations of disclosing covert investigative actions “baseless and manipulative.”

The SBU added that it can conduct urgent investigative actions without court warrants in cases where obtaining them could lead to information leaks or jeopardize operations related to collaboration with the aggressor state.