International cooperation

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to exchange information for the prevention, detection and fight against corruption. The relevant document was signed by the NABU Deputy Director Anatoly Novak and the EIB Inspector General Jan Willem van der Kaaij in Luxembourg on September 27, 2018.

The G7 Foreign Ministers called on the Ukrainian authorities to create the Anti-Corruption Court in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. This is stated in a joint communique following the meeting of the G7 Foreign Ministers in Toronto. The communique was published on April 23, 2018.

The employees of the   Legal Department  of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine visited the European Union's Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust) in Hague (the Netherlands) on March 14-15, 2018. The visit was organized by the invitation of Eurojust and under project "European Union's Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine".

It is important to make every effort to ensure the adoption of the Law On the High Anti-Corruption Court by the end of March 2018. It is equally important to take into consideration all the recommendations of the Venice Commission. Only in this case there is a chance to launch this court and give impetus to the continuation of anti-corruption reform by the end of the year. This was emphasized by the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Artem Sytnyk at the 14th Annual Ukraine Investor Conference Dragon Capital, which took place on March 1-2, 2018, in Kyiv.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) proved to be a truly independent and efficient body. In order to provide the result in its fight against corruption, we should eliminate the obstacles for the implementation of the anti-corruption reform. Namely - the absence of the Anti-Corruption Court, the pressure accompanying every investigation against top corrupt officials, and attempts to limit the NABU's functional independence. This was emphasized by the Mission Chief for Ukraine at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Ron van Rooden during the meeting with the NABU executives on February 14, 2018.

The official delegation of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) and a representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) visited the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) on January, 30-31, 2018. The executives of the NABU and representatives of the OSCE and the Venice Commission discussed the current situation in the sphere of corruption combating.

During the first years of investigations Ukrainian newly created anti-corruption agencies have shown valuable results, however further effective work of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) is impossible without establishment of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Court. This issue was brought up and later on discussed by the NABU Director Artem Sytnyk and by the Head of the SAPO Nazar Kholodnitskiy at the meeting with the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bridget A. Brink, which took place on December 8.

The newly created anti-corruption agencies already have results in the sphere of exposing and combating corruption. Therefore, these agencies need support in order to further implement the anti-corruption reform in Ukraine. This was stated by the President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim at the meeting with the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Artem Sytnyk at the Global Forum on Asset Recovery, which took place on December 4-6 in Washington, DC. During the meeting the parties discussed the pressure exerted on the NABU, the investigations which expose top-level corruption and the prospects of establishment of the Anti-Corruption Court in Ukraine.

On December 1, 2017, the representatives of the Lviv Territorial Office of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) visited the Regional Office of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau of Poland (CBA) in Rzeszów for strengthening cooperation in the fight against corruption. Among other things, the ways of solving problems in investigations of cross-border corruption offences were discussed at the meeting.

During her visit to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine on November 28, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch said “the work of NABU and SAPO is important and not easy. Ukrainian people do want change. However, these changes will not happen without sentences in top-corruption cases. That is why the United States supports the idea of creating an Anticorruption Court in Ukraine.”