LONDON, August 1. /TASS/. Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) feel humiliated by the president’s attempt to curb their work and intend to investigate the activities of Ukrainian officials and deputies even more actively, The Economist reported, citing a source.
The source said "many detectives are very angry with the government’s effort to paint them as criminals, or spies abetting Russian influence." The source said the investigators were "publicly humiliated. The detectives will investigate according to the laws, but they won’t give an inch now. Things have changed."
The Economist says that Andrey Yermak, head of Vladimir Zelensky's office, is behind the authorities' harsh measures against NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
The story also says that when protests broke out in response to the bill, Yermak was abroad meaning his authority could be dented.
"But restoring the agencies’ legal independence does not remove the underlying problems that led to the crisis. These include the government’s determination to protect loyalists above all else, and its hyper-centralized decision-making process, which revolves around Mr Yermak," The Economist says.
About the situation with NABU and SAP
A little more than a week has passed between the removal of powers from the anti-corruption authorities at the suggestion of Zelensky and the restoration of these powers. On July 22, the Rada parliament adopted a law with amendments to the Criminal Code, under which the NABU and SAP become dependent on the decisions of the Prosecutor General. Zelensky signed the document the same evening. But protests rallied across Ukraine, and Western partners accused Zelensky and his inner circle of corruption.
After that, Zelensky hastily submitted to parliament a bill that, as noted, would ensure "the strength of the law and order system" and preserve "all norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions." On July 31, the document was adopted by a majority vote of parliamentarians in two readings at once and immediately signed by the speaker.