In 2020, the NACP discontinued funding for two Parliamentary political parties. Statements on “political pressure” on the part of the NACP lack grounds

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (the NACP) discontinued funding for two Parliamentary political parties because of filing false data in their declarations.  They are “Batkivshchyna” AU and “Holos” political parties. Based on the results of the analysis of the political party reports, funding was discontinued until violations have been eliminated. As of today, “Batkivshchyna” AU already submitted the clarification report, where it eliminated violations, which resulted in restoring the state funding for this political actor by the NACP. The NACP established that the “Holos” party entered into a series of agreements with individual entrepreneurs for the amount of around UAH 1.1 million, and execution thereof has not been proven by documents.  Such services include media monitoring, information search, sociological research, etc.  In addition, other violations and omissions were revealed, not related to discontinuation of funding. “There is no substance behind reproaches of alleged “political pressure”. The NACP has indicated clearly which violations were identified in the political party reports. The NACP hopes that the “Holos” party will file the clarification report at the earliest date, which may serve as the basis for restoring state funding”, — the NACP Deputy Head, Ivan Presniakov, stated. “We realize how important state funding is for the development of political parties in Ukraine. The NACP is keen to ensure that the parties adhere to the integrity principle in their activities – special explanations have been created for this purpose, preparations are underway to launch POLITDATA electronic registry of reports into full-scale operation”, — the NACP Deputy Head added. For reference. In March 2020, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine No. 553–IX requiring parties to file reports no later than the 40th day following expiration of the quarantine measures in Ukraine.  Thus, the NACP received the following reports from the Parliamentary parties so far: “Batkivshchyna” AU — І^st quarter; “Holos” — І^st and ІІ^nd quarters; “Opposition Platform – Za Zhyttia” — І^st quarter; “Yevropeiska Solidarnist” — І^st quarter; “Sluha Narodu” — І^st and IІ^nd quarters. Verification of “Sluha Narodu” party reports for the І^st and the ІІ^nd quarters is underway, as they were submitted on 31.12.2020. The NACP states that in the state budget for 2021 adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, UAH 697 million have been allocated for party financing.  This amounts to 63% of total funds provided for funding of NACP activities. Analysis of all political party reports has been made available on NACP’s site at: https://nazk.gov.ua/uk/departament-z-pytan-zapobigannya-politychnij-koruptsiyi/analiz-zvitiv-politychnyh-partij-2/.