MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. Ukrainian lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko (included on the list of terrorists and extremists in Russia) submitted his own bill on corruption watchdogs to parliament.

According to his post on Telegram, the alternative proposal has a fundamental difference from Vladimir Zelensky’s version.

"There are no norms in the bill that encroach on the institutional independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office by requiring permanent polygraph tests by the Security Service of Ukraine or using the agency’s methodology," Goncharenko wrote.

The lawmaker’s bill seeks to enshrine the status of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office as an agency that performs independent procedural oversight of investigations of crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. In contrast to the bill that was adopted on July 22, the alternative proposal eliminates the power of prosecutor general or other prosecutors to request the bureau’s files for examination.

Corruption watchdogs

Zelensky has long tried to gain control over the agencies. On June 23, the bureau filed corruption charges against Alexey Chernyshov, who at the time served as deputy prime minister. Chernyshov is regarded as a very influential figure in Zelensky's inner circle. According to some opposition lawmakers, the corruption watchdogs could soon bring charges against other people close to Zelensky.

On July 21, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted searches in the offices of the bureau’s staff and also inspected the prosecutor’s office. On July 22, the legislature, where the majority of seats is controlled by Zelensky’s party, passed a bill aiming to strip the watchdogs of their independent status. In the evening of the same day, about 2,000 Kiev residents took to the streets in protest. Rallies also took place in some other cities. Even so, Zelensky signed the bill into law and it came into force on July 23. This led to a fresh wave of protests.

Criticism of the new law also came from the West. Given the backlash, Zelensky made a U-turn and on July 24 submitted a bill to the legislature seeking to reinforce the powers of corruption watchdogs, which, in effect, overturns the previous decision to curb their independence. Still, the bill would require the security service to subject employees of these agencies to tests six months later.