Efforts of Anti-Corruption Leaders to Prevent Signing Controversial Law No.12414
Leaders of Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) exerted considerable effort to persuade President Volodymyr Zelensky not to sign the controversial law No.12414, which threatened to severely undermine the independence of these crucial anti-corruption agencies.
Director of NABU, Semen Kryvonos, and head of SAP, Oleksandr Klymenko, argued their position vehemently during meetings with the president just prior to the parliamentary vote.
Unfortunately, by the time they saw the document—already signed into law and awaiting presidential signature—they were in transit back to Kyiv, arriving late in the evening when the law had already been approved.Kryvonos stated that they were on a business trip in London when they learned about the law's approval, primarily through media reports.
They emphasized that no ultimatums or pressure were applied to them during their negotiations.
After returning to Ukraine, they held brief meetings with Zelensky, during which they pleaded against signing the law, voicing their concerns about its potential to sabotage the independence of anti-corruption bodies.
“We expressed our worries and provided our arguments, but the law was already signed and published at that point,” Kryvonos recounted.The Law No.12414 was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on July 22 and signed by the president on the same day.
However, public outrage and international pressures led the parliament to pass an alternative law, No.13533, on July 31, which restored the independence of NABU and SAP, satisfying public and Western partner expectations.
The president signed this law later that day, reaffirming his commitment to anti-corruption reforms and the country's fight against corruption.