The Cabinet of Ministers on May 12 formally created the Economic Security Bureau.
The law on establishing the bureau was passed by parliament in January and signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in March.
The bureau will investigate economic and white-collar crimes other than those within the jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. These crimes include tax evasion.
Under the law, the police and the Security Service of Ukraine are expected to be stripped of part of their economic crimes functions. However, they will still keep the power to investigate economic crimes.
About 4,000 employees are expected to work at the Economic Security Bureau.
The head of the bureau will be appointed by the Cabinet as a result of a competitive selection process.
Some of Zelensky’s former allies, including ex-Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka and his ex-national security advisor Oleksandr Danyliuk, have urged him to veto the bill due to the non-transparent process for selecting the bureau’s leadership.
The bureau’s head will be selected by a commission comprising three representatives of the Cabinet, three members delegated by the National Security and Defense Council and three people appointed by the Verkhovna Rada. Critics argue that all three bodies are controlled by Zelensky, which will allow him to completely control the selection process.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European Business Association has expressed concerns that the new bureau may turn into a repressive machine similar to the economic units of the police and the Security Service of Ukraine — especially if their employees are hired by the new agency.
The President’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
