Foreign auditors of the NABU have completed their first two-week visit to Ukraine. They have already received a number of documents from the bureau and are currently working on developing an evaluation methodology. This was reported by the secretariat of the commission of auditors, UNN reports.
As noted, during the two-week visit, the auditors held a number of meetings, including with representatives of government agencies and NGOs. The information received during the meetings will be taken into account to develop the methodology and criteria and conduct an independent assessment of the NABU.
We have already applied to NABU for some documents and have already received some of them. We thank NABU for its cooperation. The Commission is here to help - to provide suggestions and recommendations to improve NABU's processes in line with our international experience, to set the way forward and to ensure that NABU realizes its full potential. This is the first external independent assessment of the NABU, and we take our responsibility seriously; the Commission has a strong commitment to achieving its objectives. We are currently working on the methodology, following a systematic and evidence-based approach
The next steps for the auditors will be to develop and approve the criteria and methodology for the assessment.
The final audit conclusion will be published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers and included in the NABU report to be heard in the Verkhovna Rada.
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An external independent audit of the NABU finally began on October 3. The international experts who will be reviewing the work of the detectives held a closed meeting in Kyiv with representatives of NGOs and other civil society actors working to prevent and combat corruption. At this meeting, anti-corruption activists and lawyers expressed concern about the effectiveness of investigations and transparency of the NABU's work.
Recently, the public has accumulated many questions about the work of NABU detectives. In particular, there are frequent statements about the loss of independence of anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine. This was stated by the recently dismissed first deputy director of the bureau, Gizo Uglava, among others . He has repeatedly hinted that decisions at the NABU are made under the influence of external factors, not on the basis of the law. Among the individuals and institutions that, in his opinion, exerted this pressure were activists of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC) and the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, who, as Uglava noted, used to work at the AntAC.
Uglava has repeatedly emphasized that the actions against him indicate serious problems in the NABU investigation process, which is focused on achieving external goals rather than establishing the truth.
The same opinion is supported by lawyers, who also stated that the real goal of anti-corruption activists has turned from fighting corruption to putting pressure on certain public officials to achieve “external” goals.
In addition, the lawyer community is sounding the alarm over the idea of NABU Director Semen Kryvonos to create his own forensic expertise at the bureau, because “their” experts in the investigation have nothing to do with an independent investigation.