"Defence City" bill was changed due to publicity, - Hudymenko
Head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defence Yurii Hudymenko said that controversial provisions, including the provision on de facto amnesty for participants in defense procurement, were removed from draft law 13423-2.
He posted this on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, the removal of the norms that provided for the actual non-jurisdiction of corruption crimes if they were committed during the execution of defense contracts became possible due to the active position of civil society.
"In fact, the updated concept only retains the special status of enterprises that are part of Defence City, by increasing and consolidating the role of the Prosecutor General in investigating crimes around such enterprises. Everything else, along with the "amnesties," has disappeared as if it had never existed. This is, no joke, a great victory for civil society. The country definitely did not need such game... The question "why couldn't it have been done in a normal way" still hangs in the air, there is no answer," Hudymenko emphasized.
At the same time, the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defence noted that there are also negative aspects.
"The Prosecutor General still has a monopoly on entering information about criminal proceedings and preliminary approval of requests for investigative actions. Accordingly, investigations may depend on his political will," they explained.
The PACC recalled that on July 14, at a working meeting, representatives of NATO and the G7 received an updated version of the draft law for review.
"This demonstrates Ukraine's readiness for a constructive dialogue with international partners and the desire to increase transparency in defense procurement," the Anti-Corruption Council emphasized.
Earlier, Hudymenko criticized draft law 13423 because in its current form it actually introduced an amnesty for violations in the execution of defense contracts if it was "in favor of increasing defense capabilities."
