An independent commission has chosen prosecutor Oleksandr Novikov as the new head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention. His appointment must now be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Of 30 candidates, Novikov received the best test and interview results.
“His experience, strategic vision, test results and answers during the job interview convinced the commission that he is the best candidate who can carry out the necessary reforms in order to restore trust and transparency in the work of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention,” said Tilman Hoppe, a member of the commission, during the announcement on Dec. 16.
Novikov started his career as an investigator and prosecutor in the city of Sumy. His most recent job was overseeing legal compliance during criminal proceedings at the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The National Agency for Corruption Prevention was established in 2015 along with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office as part of the anti-corruption reform pushed by the European Union. Its primary responsibility is to collect and verify lawmakers and public officials’ electronic asset and income declarations and identify illegal enrichment.
However, since its inception, the agency has been plagued with controversies and scandals. Both civic watchdogs and some of the agency’s own officials have harshly criticized it.
One of them was Ruslan Riaboshapka, a member of the board. He resigned in 2017 citing the agency’s poor performance and called for a change in leadership.
Two years later, Riaboshapka joined the team of President Volodymyr Zelensky, advising him on anti-corruption strategy. Eventually, he was appointed Prosecutor General.
On Oct. 2, the Ukrainian parliament, led by Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, which holds a majority of seats, voted in favor of relaunching the National Agency for Corruption Prevention and appointing new leadership with the help of independent experts.
The commission included Vitaly Shabunin, chairman of the board of the Anti-Corruption Action Center; Kateryna Ryzhenko, head of the legal department at Transparency International Ukraine; Olga Kobylinska, coordinator for the Media Initiative for Human Rights; Tilman Hoppe, an anti-corruption expert in Council of Europe projects; Goran Klemencic, former commissioner of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption of Slovenia, and Michael Sears, a former assistant inspector general at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Natalia Korchak, the former head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention, is currently under investigation for failure to declare Hr 544,000 (today, roughly $23,000) in her e-declaration.
