Corruption law shelved after donor pressure
KIEV: Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday shelved a draft law that critics say would have undermined the independence of anti-corruption institutions, which Ukraine’s foreign backers this week said were under attack from vested interests.
Reformists welcomed the removal of the bill from parliament’s agenda as a win at a time when Ukraine’s Western-backed corruption fight faces pushback on several fronts.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank earlier said the authorities must protect the anti-graft bureau known as NABU, following similar warnings from the United States and European Union.
The chorus of criticism helped persuade MPs to drop the law, which would have given parliament the power to dismiss the heads of anticorruption institutions, lawmaker Mustafa Nayyem said.
“They have retreated,” he said. “The clear heads of individual politicians, the reaction of the public, the media and personal contacts of many activists in international organisations played an important role in this story.”
“Attacks on anti-corruption bodies will continue,” he said in a post on Facebook.
The United States, EU and Canada have thrown financial and diplomatic support behind the leadership that took power in Kiev after the 2014 Maidan protests ousted the Kremlin- backed President Viktor Yanukovich.
But perceived backsliding on reform commitments has delayed billions of dollars in IMF loans and tested the patience of Ukraine’s allies even as Kiev pushes for closer EU integration and more foreign investment.
“We are deeply concerned by recent events in Ukraine that could roll back progress that has been made in setting up independent institutions to tackle high-level corruption,” IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
“We urge the Ukrainian authorities and parliament to safeguard the independence of NABU and SAPO (anti-corruption prosecutor),” Lagarde said.
Parliament’s failure to pass legislation to set up such a court has delayed the disbursement of an IMF loan tranche under a $17.5 billion aidfor-reforms programme.