Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Ukrainian: Спеціалізована антикорупційна прокуратура) or SAPO is an independent structural unit of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine, and is primarily responsible for supporting and overseeing criminal investigations launched by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 22 September 2015[1] |
| Jurisdiction |  Ukraine government |
| Parent agency | General Prosecutor of Ukraine (parliament) |
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Ukraine |
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The office is entrusted with: supervision over observance of laws during conducting of operational search activity of pre-trial investigation by the NABU; the maintenance of state prosecution in relevant proceedings; and the representation of the interests of a citizen or state in court in cases provided for by law and related to corruption or corruption-related offenses.
The prospect of visa liberalization (visa-free travel to the Schengen Area) between Ukraine and the European Union was closely linked with the process of creating the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
The first head of the agency Prosecutor Nazar Kholodnytsky was appointed in December 2015.[2] On 26 May 2020 Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova accused him and his fellow anti-corruption Prosecutor's (in a video message) of "improper performance of official duties" and failing cases against current MP's.[3] Kholodnytsky resigned on 21 August 2020, in his resignation letter he claimed that the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office had "systematically faced political attempts to encroach on our independence and manipulate the results of our work."[4]
Heads of the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption
References
- Kononczuk, Wojciech (30 November 2015). "The bumpy road. Difficult reform process in Ukraine". Centre for Eastern Studies (192): 5. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- Nazar Kholodnytsky appointed Anti-Corruption Prosecutor of Ukraine – PGO, Interfax-Ukraine (12 December 2015)
- (in Ukrainian) Kholodnytsky resigned from the SAP, Ukrayinska Pravda (21 August 2020)
- Ukrainian Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Resigns, Radio Free Europe (21 August 2020)