Specifically, it was a law that requires senior state officials to present their financial situation digitally and publicly. It was seen as an important reform following the wave of protests in Kiev’s Independence Square in 2014/15 and as a central tool in the fight against corruption – especially for journalists. It was suspended in 2022 due to the Russian war of aggression.
Now, the Ukrainian parliament wanted to reintroduce disclosure, but imposed a ban that provided for another year of secrecy for this information. The decision caused protests among the public. Many anti-corruption activists in Ukraine then asked Zelensky to veto the controversial decision.
Zelensky with veto
Zelenskyy also fulfilled this on Tuesday. “Declarations must be public. Immediately. Not just after a year,” he wrote on Telegram. In his evening video speech, he went on to say that this was “not only about Parliament’s political responsibility, but also about our accession negotiations with the EU”. Ukrainian anti-corruption activists welcomed the decision and spoke of a “victory” for Ukrainian society.
AP/Ritzau Scanpix/Thomas Traasdahl With his veto, Ukrainian President Zelensky, among other things, reminded Parliament of its political responsibility
Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, the EU granted Ukraine candidate status for EU membership last year. Before accession negotiations can begin, Kiev must first meet seven requirements set out by the EU Commission. This involves, for example, the selection process of Ukrainian constitutional judges and a stronger fight against corruption – especially at high levels.
Change in the Ministry of Defense
Although there is talk of a “victory” for Ukraine in civil society, corruption remains omnipresent in many areas, often relevant to war. This is also demonstrated by an analysis of Transparency International’s international corruption perception index. In 2022, Ukraine ranked 116th out of 180. The country moved up a few places compared to 2021 – when Ukraine ranked 122nd – but performed just as poorly in Europe, with the exception of Russia (137th place). another country.
The recent change at the top of the Ministry of Defense was an example of this. Several alleged corruption scandals involving overpriced food contracts and winter uniforms led the internationally respected Oleksiy Reznikov to announce his resignation from the ministry.
Portal/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service Zelensky wants to start from scratch with new Defense Minister Rustem Umjerov
Zelenskyy wanted a “new approach and different formats of cooperation with soldiers and society as a whole”, as he put it. There were no indications that Resnikov was personally involved in the scandals. Zelensky wanted to start over with the now former head of the state fund, Rustem Umjerov. When he was introduced, he proclaimed “zero tolerance” towards corruption.
One corruption scandal follows the next
In recent months, however, a corruption scandal has occurred in Ukraine. Just a few weeks ago, oligarch and longtime Zelensky supporter Ihor Kolomoisky was arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. A court has ordered one of Ukraine’s once richest men to be held in pre-trial detention for two months. Zelenskyy then distanced himself from Kolomoiskyj.
And in May there were, among other things, arrests related to bribe payments to chief judge Vsevolod Knyasiev. Knyasiev was arrested at the time for having received the equivalent of two and a half million euros in cash. According to media reports, the money came from a French-based oligarch who denied the allegations.
Corrupt customs officials
But there is also widespread corruption in one of Ukraine’s most important sources of income, customs, as the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (“SZ”) wrote. This is particularly noticeable around the port of Odessa. A businessman based there estimated in 2018 that 40% of the billions actually incurred by customs were stolen through corruption. Even when delivering aid to Ukraine, corrupt customs officials reportedly charged humanitarian organizations the equivalent of around €470 to €650 per truckload of humanitarian aid goods for customs clearance.
AP/Kostiantyn Liberov Customs officials also reportedly demanded bribes when delivering aid to Ukraine, such as here at the port of Odessa
And even the authorities that should take measures against corruption are, according to “SZ”, riddled with corruption. This is particularly visible in the fact that an arrest is often not followed by charges or convictions. In 2021, Zelensky founded the Economic Security Bureau (BEB) to combat economic and corruption crimes.
According to several NGOs, parliamentarians and a businessman in Odessa, local officials have been systematically collecting bribes since then. According to Oleksandr Lemenov, head of the citizens’ group State Watch, more than 90 percent of all BEB investigations never reach court, but result in a demand for a bribe.
Exemption for conscientious objectors
Civil servants in military administrations and other authorities would also benefit. More recently, Zelenskyy denounced the “systematic corruption in the medical exemption of conscientious objectors”. “There are examples of regions where the number of exemptions from military service has increased tenfold since February last year due to decisions by the medical commission.”
According to Zelensky, this clearly involves “corrupt decisions” and bribes of between 3,000 and 15,000 dollars. In early August, the Ukrainian president fired all those regionally responsible for recruiting soldiers. Criminal proceedings were initiated against numerous people.
Zelensky wants to punish corruption more severely
To be able to better combat corruption in the future, Zelensky could also imagine harsher punishments: specifically, he made people sit up and pay attention to plans under which the crime of corruption would be equated with treason during war. . Ukrainian legislation currently provides for different penalties for corruption, from fines to four years in prison and, in particularly serious cases, up to twelve years. Treason, on the other hand, is punishable by 15 years to life in prison.
Ultimately, the fight against corruption is, in addition to the prospect of EU membership, also of domestic political importance for Zelensky. The next presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for next year. However, it is questionable whether such elections are actually possible. According to Zelensky, this would require not only changes to the law, but also financial support from abroad and international election observers.
Furthermore, according to many experts, elections cannot be held during war for constitutional reasons. For example, due to martial law, some basic human rights – such as freedom of expression and assembly – may be restricted, which would contradict democratic elections.