WASHINGTON—Helsinki Commission Chairman Senator Roger Wicker (MS) has issued the following statement after the withdrawal of a draft law from the Verkhovna Rada legislative agenda. The law would have enabled the director of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to be dismissed on corruption-related administrative charges.
“I commend the Rada for recognizing that this draft law would undermine the independence of NABU, and I hope it will be withdrawn entirely from the Rada. NABU is the cornerstone of Ukraine’s anti-corruption architecture and needs to carry out its work without political interference. I would be very disturbed to see any further backsliding on Ukraine’s commitment to the elimination of corruption and the establishment of the rule of law.”
NABU is an independent Ukrainian agency responsible for the investigation of officials thought to have committed acts of grand corruption.