President Zelensky submits draft bill on 'illicit enrichment' to Ukrainian Parliament. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has submitted the bill on the punishment for illicit enrichment by government officials to the Verkhovna Rada, reports the President’s press service.

The proposed bill provides for the confiscation of illegally acquired assets and criminal punishment for illicit enrichment, though the text is not yet available. In February, the Ukrainian Constitutional Court removed the section of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on illicit enrichment. The decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine was heavily criticized by the experts of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine and the international organization Transparency International.

Zelensky restarts National Council on Anti-Corruption Policy with Riaboshapka in charge. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has updated the composition of the National Council on Anti-Corruption Policy; this body is now headed by Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ruslan Riaboshapka.

The corresponding changes are enshrined in the decree “The Issue of the National Council on Anti-Corruption Policy” dated June 25.

The National Council includes representatives of expert non-governmental organisations, business associations, anti-corruption experts and other relevant authorities, etc.

Ukraine’s Constitutional Court recognizes e-declaration for public activists as illegal. The Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court determined that including anti-corruption activists in the list of people who should file the electronic declarations was unconstitutional.

Anti-bribery management system of the NABU meets the requirements of ISO 37001:2016 standard. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is the first law enforcement agency in Ukraine and one of the first law enforcement agencies in Europe and the world, which confirmed the full compliance of its anti-bribery management systems with the requirements of the international standard ISO 37001:2016. The NABU received the corresponding Certificate in April 2019.

The certificate is based on the results of a successful audit of the anti-corruption management systems of the NABU. The certification audit was carried out by PECB Group Inc. on the initiative of the NABU executives and with the support of the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI).

Ex-Commander of the National Guard detained on suspicion of 81 million UAH misappropriation. On May 14, 2019, the Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), under the procedural guidance of Prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), detained former Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine on suspicion of misappropriation of the property of the Main Department of the National Guard in the amount of 81.64 mln UAH. Executive director of real estate developer and real estate appraiser were also detained.

National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) calls for amendment of Law of Ukraine “On High Anti-Corruption Court”. According to NABU, there’s an urgent need to amend the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anti-Corruption Court.” Such an amendment would concern the provision which stipulates that the appeals against sentences of the first-instance courts made before the establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) not be considered in the Appeal Chamber of the HACC. Instead, they are to be considered by appeal courts of general jurisdiction. According to NABU, this provision strips the prosecution and the defence the right to have decisions reviewed by an independent judicial body in proceedings that have been investigated by the NABU over the past three years.

Ukraine’s High Council of Justice approves candidates for High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). Motions were submitted to the President by the High Council of Justice for the appointment of a total of 38 persons as HACC judges on 18 and 28 March. The President has 30 days from the time of submission to file a respective decree.

International partners ask Ukraine to postpone review of illicit enrichment provision. The IMF, the U.S. Ambassador and the Head of the EU Delegation in Ukraine sent a letter to the Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement asking it to postpone review of 13 draft laws on criminal liability for illicit enrichment, citing the need to improve all the initiatives registered in the Parliament.

Competition for Anti-Corruption Court judges continues. Out of 113 applicants who passed a written exam, High Qualification Commission of Judges and Public Council of International Experts excluded 42 candidates who were deemed to have questionable track records. As a final step, the High Qualification Commission of Judges will conduct interviews with the remaining 71 candidates to determine judicial appointments.

Ukraine marginally improves its score on Transparency International’s 2018 Corruption Perception Index. The country received 32 points for its control of corruption, ranking 120th among 180 countries, two points higher than in 2017.