MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a law reinstating the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). The bill was supported by 330 legislators, with the majority of votes coming from the pro-government Servant of the People faction. Earlier, on July 22, the same faction adopted a bill stripping the bodies of their independence, triggering mass protest rallies across Ukraine, the first acts of defiance against the current authorities since they first came to power.
Over the past few years, Ukraine has been noted as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. The West has told the Kiev regime that to keep receiving financial and military support, it must bring corruption levels down and be more transparent about spending.
During the Euromaidan events in 2014, ending corruption and Eurointegration were the opposition's main battle cries. Ukraine’s European partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were the main proponents of establishing anti-corruption agencies, naming this as a key condition for the country’s European integration. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) were established in 2015.
