Zelensky signs amendment to reset State Bureau of Investigations

Ukrainian President Zelensky signed on Dec. 24 an amendment
to the law on the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) that resets the state
body responsible for investigating high state officials and high-profile
criminal cases. The amendment calls for creating a subunit to investigate the
crimes of the EuroMaidan in 2014, to be led by the investigators who had been
involved at the Prosecutor General’s Office. The bill also dismisses the
current director and his deputies, transferring all the managing authority of
the deputies to the new director. The new director also gains the authority to
appoint and dismiss all his deputies. The new director is appointed by the
president at the recommendation of a selection commission. The new law takes
effect today.

An “unacceptable norm” of the new law is it imposes parliamentary
control on the investigative body, said outgoing DBR Director Roman Truba in a
column published on the pravda.com.ua news site on Dec. 24. “So the parliament,
which has no relation to appointing the DBR director, now can dismiss him. That
is, the director is supposed to ‘befriend’ MPs,” he wrote. Another is the law
doesn’t increase the number of territorial administrations beyond seven
currently, and doesn’t offer the possibility to establish offices in Ukraine’s
regions. To his credit, Truba touted the opening of 30,000 criminal
investigations targeting high-ranking state officials, law enforcement
authorities, judges and military officers.

In his column, Truba also indirectly criticized former
President Poroshenko for “an absence of state support and even blocking our
creation.” For an extended period, the bureau was denied its own office and was
targeted with court complaints, while the law to create it was blocked in
parliament. Poroshenko authorities also tried to influence the selection commission
and deprive bureau officials of state security. As its last major criminal case
under Truba’s leadership, the DBR announced on Dec. 25 the uncovering of an
alleged kickback scheme involving the heads of the Security Service of Ukraine
(SBU) in the Ukrainian-controlled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk
regions, as well as executives at the Artemsil state enterprise.

Zenon Zawada: This law’s
approval is part of the Zelensky administration’s power grab of whatever
authority it can lay claim to. Truba seemed to have demonstrated his loyalty to
Zelensky, having opened 13 criminal investigations against former President
Poroshenko and even more cases against his entourage. But Truba may have
overextended himself in his efforts.

We believe Zelensky sees the need to dismiss Truba
because he views him as a tainted public figure after audio leaks seemed to
offer evidence of Truba coordinating his actions with President’s Office Head
Andriy Bohdan, and selecting political targets with Deputy Head Andriy Smyrnov.

In the absence of a consistent state policy on rule
of law and fighting corruption, however – and amid dueling factions within the
Zelensky administration – Zelensky won’t be able to accomplish much with his power grab. Moreover, it’s understood that Truba’s successor
will be just as loyal to the president’s office, if not more so.