NABU opens Territorial Office in Odesa
On August 4, 2017, the Odesa Territorial Office of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) officially started its work. The Office is allocated in Odesa. The main task of the Odesa Territorial Office (as well as the NABU Territorial Offices in Lviv and Kharikiv) is communication with the public and information processing (applications on corruption offenses under NABU`s jurisdiction). Also the Odesa Territorial Office will provide organizational support in investigations to the NABU Detectives in the Southern Regions of Ukraine.
«Today is the final day of the National Bureau’s establishment. The opening of the Odesa Territorial Office means that all NABU’s structural units finally started their work,» said the NABU Director Artem Sytnyk at the briefing.
«Most of the corruption risks in the Southern Regions are related to the coastline. The Detectives will pay special attention to the elimination of corruption schemes at State Enterprises, as well as at government authorities,» stated the NABU Director.
The Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor`s Office (SAPO) Nazar Kholodnytsky stressed on the importance of the consolidation of efforts and active actions by newly established anti-corruption agencies.
«There are no fully immune ones. It has been proved by more than 1.5 years of joint work of the NABU and the SAPO. Please, submit information on the facts of corruption. If the information on corruption of high officials is confirmed, the crimes will be investigated professionally and impartially,» said the Head of the SAPO.
The Head of Odesa Regional State Administration Maksym Stepanov promised to help the NABU and the SAPO in the fight against corruption in the Region, especially in terms of transparent privatization of the State Enterprises of the Odesa Region.
«It is necessary to conduct the privatization at State Enterprises rapidly and to eliminate the corruption,» said the Head of the Odesa Regional State Administration.
According to the Law "On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine", the NABU has up to seven Territorial Offices. However, due to the limited staffing of the law-enforcement agency (the maximum number of personnel is 700 people), it was decided to establish three Territorial Offices only - in Lviv, Kharkiv and Odesa correspondingly. Their jurisdiction would be spread on the Western, Southern and Eastern Regions of Ukraine. The Lviv Territorial Office opened in July last year. The Territorial Offices in Kharkiv started its work in July 2017. The opening of the Odesa Territorial Office, which have been accepting first appeals since August 7, completed the process of forming Regional Offices of the NABU. It became possible thanks to the support of international partners - the EU Consultative Mission on Civil Security and the "Anticorruption Initiative of the European Union in Ukraine". They ensure the technical equipping of the NABU`s Territorial Offices.
"Investment in anti-corruption is the most important one. We are ready to support the development of the NABU’s Territorial Offices, in particular, its IT-equipping and training of employees," said senior Anti-Corruption Adviser of the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative Elena Konceviciute.
It should be reminded that the Odesa Territorial Office was established on December 10, 2015. Its jurisdiction extends to Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kirovograd Regions. The Territorial Office staffed with the Director, the Deputy Director, 5 employees and Detectives. Currently, the Deputy Director Viktoria Skorykova is appointed. She will serve as the Acting Director of the Territorial Office until the selection of the Director. The winners of open competition for the positions of specialists are currently in the process of appointment. Separate unit of ten Detectives has been formed for investigations in the Regions under the jurisdiction of the Odesa Territorial Office and their number may increase if necessary.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nab_ukr/albums/72157684592014453/with/36368566275/
