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The deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy Oleg Tatarov fully supports the vector of the head of state for cooperation with international partners, said the press service of the Office of the President, commenting on Tatarov’s statement that the head of the National Anti-Corruption Office, Artem Sytnik, should resign.
Statement of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy Oleg Tatarov on the activities National Anticorruption Office it is his personal opinion and does not reflect the official position of the president. This was reported on November 29 by the press service of the Presidency.
“According to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, the position on supporting the integrity, independence and efficiency of the anti-corruption system in Ukraine, which was expressed at the last meeting of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Council, does not has changed, and only this position is a priority in Zelensky’s team. ” the message says.
Tatarov fully supports the president’s vector of cooperation with international partners to strengthen the independence of all anti-corruption bodies, the press service said.
“Yesterday I expressed my personal opinion, which in no way affects my support for all the president’s legislative initiatives to strengthen the independence of all anti-corruption bodies,” explained Tatarov.
Zelensky said that the recognition of certain provisions of the law “On the National Anti-Corruption Office of Ukraine” as unconstitutional, while posing a threat to the work of the NABU, could not destroy the legitimacy and independence of both the National Anti-Corruption Office and your current manager.
“In the near future, the law will be improved for full compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine, the department reported,” the press service added.
Earlier, Tatarov said that NABU director Artem Sytnik was illegally appointed to the post and should resign. In his opinion, Sytnik has no moral right to run the state’s anti-corruption department.
NABU was established in 2015. Since its inception, it has been led by attorney Sytnik. Under the law, the NABU’s task is to counter corruption offenses committed by high-ranking officials.
On September 6, 2019, the Sarny District Court of the Rivne Region found Sytnik guilty of violating the restrictions on receiving gifts determined by Ukrainian law due to unspecified information in the statement of the head of NABU about his vacation on the Polesskoe-Sarny hunting grounds in the period from 2017 to 2019. …
Sytnyk challenged the lower court’s decision at the Rivne Court of Appeal, but the NABU director’s complaint was rejected. After that, Sytnyk was entered in the registry of persons who committed a crime of corruption. In 2020, he appealed the Ukraine court’s decision to the European Court of Human Rights.
Sytnyk accused Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov of organizing this case. In his opinion, this is revenge for the so-called backpack case, in which Avakov’s son Alexander appeared.
In May 2020, the KSU received a presentation from 51 popular deputies. He said Ukraine’s fifth president Petro Poroshenko, who appointed the NABU director, went beyond his powers.
On August 28, the CCU announced its decision on this petition. The court concluded that the decree on the appointment of Sytnyk was unconstitutional, as the Basic Law clearly defines the list of positions to which the president appoints (there is no NABU director among them). By issuing a decree on Sytnik’s appointment, Poroshenko exceeded his constitutional powers, according to the KSU.
At the same time, the KSU emphasized that the decision does not apply to legal relationships that arise as a result of the performance of official duties of Sytnik. The representative of the President of Ukraine in the Constitutional Court, the people’s deputy of the people’s servant Fyodor Venislavsky explained that the decision of the Constitutional Court does not threaten the cases investigated by the anti-corruption office – all actions committed by the director of the NABU before 28 August will be considered legitimate and constitutional.
NABU described the decision of the Constitutional Court as one more step towards destroying the institutional independence of the department.
On September 16, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine recognized as unconstitutional certain provisions of the law on NABU, in particular, the provisions on the empowerment of the President of Ukraine to create NABU, appoint and remove its director, appoint a member of the external control committee to carry out an independent evaluation (audit) of the effectiveness of the office, operational and institutional independence and approve the regulations on the Public Control Council and the procedure for its formation.
The NABU said that due to the KSU’s decisions, the audit and appointment of the head of the bureau would be prohibited.
Zelensky, in an online meeting with G7 ambassadors on November 19, said that the director of NABU Sytnyk will remain in office after December 16, and the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to declare some provisions of the law unconstitutional on NABU does not yet pose threats that may affect the legitimacy of the office and its chapters.
On November 27, the Verkhovna Rada registered bill No. 4437, which provides for amendments to the law on NABU, according to which the parliament may remove the head of the National Office if there are reasons provided for in the law.
The head of the Servant of the People faction in Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia, said that all parliamentary factions support the passage of the bill on the procedure to remove the head of NABU.
