The Ukrainian parliament has adopted a bill proposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko regarding the system of specially authorized entities in the field of combating corruption.
A total of 278 MPs voted for such a bill at first reading on Oct. 7.
After that, MPs supported the proposal to vote for this bill as a whole at a meeting on Oct. 14.
As reported, on Sept. 16, a presidential bill on the system of specially authorized entities in the field of combating corruption (No. 5085), which envisages the creation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, was put to the vote in parliament at the third attempt, but did not get enough votes.
Under the bill, it is proposed to establish the National Anti-Corruption Bureau outside the system of existing law enforcement agencies, as a state law enforcement agency entrusted with preventing, detecting, stopping and uncovering criminal offenses falling within its jurisdiction.
It is proposed that the bureau be tasked with fighting criminal corruption offenses, which were committed by senior officials authorized to perform the functions of the state or local government and pose a threat to national security.
The national bureau’s jurisdiction will also cover corrupt deals made by parliamentary deputies, prime minister, ministers, head of the National Bank of Ukraine, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and his deputies, first and second-class civil servants, deputies of regional legislatures, local government executives, judges, prosecutors, Interior Ministry officials, top-level military officials, and top managers of major companies the state stake in which is over 50 percent.
In addition to this, the national bureau will deal with crimes that involve damage which is equivalent to or is 500 times larger than the minimal wage set for the year, if the crime has been committed by an official in charge of a government body, or law enforcement service, military formation or local government, or by the manager of a company whose state stake exceeds 50 percent.
