Zelenskyy's anti-graft bill includes routine polygraph checks for NABU staff
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's bill on the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) does not pose any new risks to the functioning of anti-corruption agencies, NABU reports.
NABU clarified that the bill provides for polygraph testing of employees who have access to state secrets, but these procedures will be carried out not by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), but by NABU's own Internal Control Department. This practice is already in use at the Bureau: around 200 such tests were conducted in 2024.
The use of polygraph testing in such cases is a standard practice for the Bureau. Employees undergo polygraph checks during internal investigations, appointments, and reappointments. It is a tool for internal integrity, not a new innovation.
"It is important that the methodology for such checks, approved by NABU and the SBU, prevents any risk of interference in operational activities or pressure on employees," NABU emphasized.
Zelenskyy's bill
Today, July 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) aimed at ensuring the independence of NABU and SAPO and preventing Russian influence on anti-corruption bodies.
Specifically, the bill stipulates that NABU employees with access to state secrets must undergo a polygraph test at least once every two years.
Additionally, a group of Members of Parliament also submitted a separate bill to the Rada today concerning the independence of NABU and SAPO. That bill proposes to cancel all controversial amendments that reduce the powers of the anti-corruption agencies.
