On January 24, the Commission for the independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) launched its assessment to determine the quality and effectiveness of the agency’s activities and processes for 2020-2021.
The Commission consists of three international experts appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on November 10, 2021, based on the proposals of international anti-corruption technical assistance projects. The external assessment is conducted with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) and other international technical assistance projects.
Allan Pagh Kristensen, the EUACI Head: “The anti-corruption infrastructure needs independent, professional and effective institutions. To this end, an external assessment by the leading international experts can provide recommendations to further improve the work of these institutions. Therefore, we welcome the NACP auditors that will conduct the first external assessment of their kind in Ukraine. We are proud to support their work together with our US partners ”.
During their first visit to Ukraine on January 24-28, commissioners will meet with the leadership and staff of the NACP and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and representatives of the Verkhovna Rada, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, NACP Public Oversight Council, civil society, and other stakeholders.
United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention states that each State Party must put in place the overall context and framework to prevent corruption and is asked to endeavour to review the relevant institutional, legal and procedural provisions to strengthen a coherent and coordinated anti-corruption strategy. In compliance with this treaty, the Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Corruption Prevention” introducing the mechanism of an independent external assessment of the NACP’s effectiveness in 2020. The legislative changes were strongly supported by international stakeholders and anti-corruption civil society organizations. The amendments stipulate that the assessment should be conducted every two years. 2022 will be the first year an independent assessment of NACP will take place.
The Commission for the independent assessment of the effectiveness of the NACP consists of:
Joseph Gangloff (U.S.) – Former public corruption prosecutor in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) with over twenty years of experience, including extensive experience in the prosecution of public corruption offences at the DOJ. Former Principal Deputy Chief of DOJ’s Public Integrity Section – the anti-corruption headquarters unit charged with the investigation, prosecution, and policy development at the national level. Former Chief Counsel to the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. Former Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. GRECO and United Nations evaluator and expert on public official financial disclosure, whistleblower protections, and political party finance, among other relevant areas.
Diana Kurpniece (Latvia) – Senior consultant to PricewaterhouseCoopers in Latvia; Expert on integrity and anti-corruption in the judiciary of the project Consolidation of the Justice System in Armenia, former Expert consultant for GRECO and OECD on corruption prevention, integrity and accountability, party financing, and lobbying. Former Head of Corruption Prevention Division at the Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau.
Laura Stefan (Romania) – Former director of the Romanian Ministry of Justice; International expert in anti-corruption reforms for the European Commission, Council of Europe, World Bank, United Nations Development Program, OECD, and other international donors. GRECO expert and evaluator in the regular evaluation rounds.
The Commission’s assessment of the NACP’s effectiveness will be concluded in June and result in a report that will be made public on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website. Detailed information about the Commission’s work as well as Commission’s contact details will be published in a special section of the Cabinet of Ministers’ website. Please direct media inquiries to [email protected].
