IMF to study Ukrainian law on Anti-Corruption Court to ensure it complies with agreements
Gerry Rice, Director of the Communications Department (COM) at the International Monetary Fund, has said that the IMF will now assess the law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on the creation of a High Anti-Corruption Court.
According to Rice, IMF staff have expressed concern about the institutional role of the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance since the dismissal of Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk.
The Verkhovna Rada supported Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman’s petition to dismiss Oleksandr Danylyuk from the post of Minister of Finance; First Deputy Finance Minister Oksana Markarova was appointed to take over his position. The Verkhovna Rada also approved the “Law on the High Anti-Corruption Court” in its entirety today. The creation of such a court is one of the main requirements of Western creditors; however, the initiative was blocked for a long time, with public authorities proposing to create a chamber in the existing system rather than a separate court. In fall 2017, authorities’ rhetoric changed, and in December President Petro Poroshenko introduced a bill to create such a court to the Verkhovna Rada.
Cases being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) are currently being considered by the Solomensky District Court of Kyiv. NABU’s office building is located in the Solomensky Capital district. NABU has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the decisions of this court and demanded the creation of a High Anti-Corruption Court. All NABU and SAP cases would be subject to this court, whose decisions could only be appealed by the Supreme Court.