The head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), Oleksandr Novikov, has drawn up a report against the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal. He unlawfully disclosed information about a whistleblower that he learned in the course of his official duties.
The Prime Minister, having previously reviewed the report of corruption from the whistleblower, namely an employee of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, instructed the relevant officials to process the report and inform the applicant and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU).
At the same time, among the officials who were instructed to consider the report was the Head of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, Ivan Rudyi, whose illegal actions were reported. Upon learning of this, the official decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the whistleblower. However, according to the law, a whistleblower cannot be disciplined or subjected to other negative measures of influence by his or her supervisor or employer. Having established the fact of such actions, the NACP drew up a protocol against the Head of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries,on January 5, 2024.
Thus, the Prime Minister of Ukraine committed an administrative offense under Part 2 of Art. 1728 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, as he illegally disclosed information about the whistleblower that he learned in connection with the performance of his official duties.
The NACP invited the Prime Minister to review the protocol on January 10, 2024, but he did not appear on time and did not inform about the reasons for his absence.
Therefore, the NACP sent the protocol to the court at the place of the offense. If the court finds Denys Shmyhal guilty of an administrative offense, the official will be fined and deprived of the right to hold certain positions for one year, which will be the basis for entering information about him in the Unified State Register of Persons Who Committed Corruption or Corruption-Related Offenses.
The National Agency emphasizes that the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption" prohibits disclosure of information about the identity of a whistleblower to third parties who are not involved in the consideration of the facts reported by the whistleblower and those directly concerned by these facts (part 1 of Article 535 of the Law). A similar provision is contained in Article 16 of Directive 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23.10.2019 on the protection of whistleblowers reporting infringements of the laws of the European Union.
Ukraine, as a State Party to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, has committed itself to implementing an effective coordinated anti-corruption policy and to establishing and promoting effective practices aimed at preventing corruption (Article 5 of the Convention).
Establishment of the institution of whistleblowing in Ukraine is a priority of the Program of the President of Ukraine, which, in particular, states: "Not fighting corruption, but defeating it: a corruption whistleblower will be protected by the state and receive material incentives" and requires an immediate and systematic response to violations of whistleblower rights.
In addition, the problem of effective protection of whistleblowers and strengthening the institutional capacity of the authorized bodies is also reflected in the Anti-Corruption Strategy developed by the NACP and approved by the Law of Ukraine No. 2322-I dated June 20, 2022.
Building a virtuous society where corruption is minimized is the key to victory.
