Pavliuk and Ionushas registered a bill that could weaken confiscation of unjustified assets

Pavliuk and Ionushas registered a bill that could weaken confiscation of unjustified assets

Members of Parliament Maksym Pavliuk and Serhii Ionushas registered bill No.16190, which provides amendments to anti-corruption procedures. The document could weaken the mechanism of civil confiscation of unjustified assets and financial oversight of officials.

This was reported by the organization “MEZHA,” which analyzed the bill and found a number of risks to the anti-corruption system.

In particular, the bill proposes allowing officials to pay the value of an unjustified asset within 30 days instead of transferring it to the state. According to MEZHA, this could allow officials to keep apartments, cars, and other property acquired with illegally sourced funds simply by paying their value.

The document also provides for raising the threshold value of assets subject to civil confiscation. For property acquired in 2026, it could rise from the current 1,5 million UAH to 2,3 million UAH. As a result, some assets that can currently be subject to confiscation would no longer fall under this mechanism.

Another proposal is to abolish the obligation for officials to notify the National Agency on Corruption Prevention about significant changes in their asset situation and the opening of accounts in foreign banks. MEZHA believes this will complicate the prompt detection of large purchases and financial transactions, as well as the verification of whether declarants’ actual expenditures match their official incomes.

In addition, the bill proposes giving NACP the right to independently apply to court with claims to recover unjustified assets without the participation of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP). The organization warns of possible constitutional risks and the concentration in a single body of powers to detect assets, assess evidence, and file lawsuits in court.

MEZHA emphasizes that each of the proposed changes individually weakens a particular element of the anti-corruption system, and together they could significantly complicate the detection and confiscation of officials’ unjustified assets.

The organization urged Members of Parliament not to support bill No.16190 in its current edition and to remove provisions that, in its assessment, create risks for the anti-corruption system.