On July 22, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted a law reducing the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). The official justification is to strengthen national security by removing alleged Russian infiltration and to centralize control over anti-corruption bodies during wartime for more effective oversight.
Passed with 263 votes out of 450 MPs, the legislation grants Ukraine’s Prosecutor General expanded authority, including the ability to reassign or close cases and to override SAPO’s autonomy by assuming operational control. The legislation was swiftly processed: it passed committee, was signed by Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, and received presidential approval from Volodymyr Zelensky the same day.
The law follows raids on NABU offices by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on July 21, during which two employees were detained on charges including espionage and links to Russian entities. NABU leadership reported use of force during the searches and stated the crackdown impaired their operations.
The law triggered protests in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Rivne and drew criticism from Ukrainian politicians, civil society organizations, and international actors, including G7 ambassadors and the European Commission, who emphasized that financial aid is tied to ongoing reform and institutional integrity.
The independence of NABU and SAPO is a core requirement to the European Union’s (EU) anti-corruption and rule-of-law standards, making it central in Ukraine’s EU accession process.