Integrity of anti-graft bodies important element in fighting corruption – EU Ambassador

The Ambassador of the Eurean Union to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, stated this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"An effective anti-corruption fight is an important part of Eurean integration and that there cannot be a shadow of doubt about these institutions because they are such important building blocks for fighting corruption," Mathernová believes.

The ambassador noted that during her meetings with the leadership of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies, she constantly recalls the need to adhere to the principles of integrity.

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In response to a question about whether the EU perceives the recent high-profile arrests and charges being pressed as an illustration of widespread corruption or a campaign aimed at its purge, the ambassador said she “leans towards the latter tion”.

"I'm not saying there is no corruption in Ukraine, but over the last 10 years Ukraine has made huge efforts to eradicate corruption by closing space for corruption by building institutions, by adting a number of laws, by making public officials file very intrusive asset declarations," she recalled.

In this context, she noted that over the past 10 years, Ukraine has jumped 40 positions in the corruption perception index, annually compiled by Transparency International.

"So there has been very, very palpable and significant progress," Katarína Mathernová noted.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on August 14, 2024, with the consent of the SAPO prosecutor, NABU detectives pressed charges against the chief of the Antimony Committee, Pavlo Kyrylenko, who is suspected of illegal enrichment.

The pre-trial investigation established that in 2020-2023, the official, while serving as head of the regional state administration, acquired 21 real estate sites and a luxury vehicle while registering ownership with his spouse’s relatives.

Read also: NABU, SAPO heads meet with members of U.S. Congress

On August 12, the Security Service of Ukraine reported the detention of a Deputy Minister of Energy on suspicion of receiving a bribe in the amount of half a million dlars.

For this amount, the official, abusing his powers, promised heads of state-owned enterprises of the Lviv-Vyn coal basin to unimpededly receive equipment from the mines located in the front-line area in Donetsk region.