The competition for the position of Director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (Bab), which was supposed to end on June 10, was suspended for suspicions of three candidates in possible relations with Russia. This was announced on June 6 by a member of the competition commission from the Government Yuriy Ponomarenko.
According to him, the commission received a letter from the Security Service of Ukraine, dated May 24, which indicated the need for additional verification of candidates. The letter was obtained only on June 5 - less than three days before the planned interview stage. As Ponomarenko explained, it is a possible risks of national security that need a careful assessment.
Despite the fact that on April 27, the SBU officially announced the absence of reservations to candidates, new information changed the situation. The commission has a split: three international experts called on to continue the competition, and three representatives of Ukraine - supported its suspension. According to the procedure, the final decision should be made by international members of the commission.
Between transparency and sabotage
At the same time, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak in his Telegram-channel stated that the competition had been torn apart. In his opinion, it is a continuation of the trend of inhibition of key reforms in the field of combating corruption, after stopping the customs reform.
Zheleznyak warns that delaying the procedure of appointing the head of the Bab can disrupt the fulfillment of the obligations of Ukraine to the International Monetary Fund, the EU and the G7 countries. He promised to initiate the creation of a temporary investigative commission in the Verkhovna Rada to investigate the reasons for suspension of the competition.
Under suspicion - favorites selection
Among the highest scores among the results of the previous stages were NABU detective Alexander Skomarov (215.36 points), senior detective Roman Yaromenok (199.65), SAP Prosecutor Alexander Sitnikov (193.3) and Ruslan Pakhomov from Fersego Ukraine (191).
Skomarov, in particular, appeared in the media due to the lack of data on the father with the citizenship of the Russian Federation and activities in the temporarily occupied territory. However, no official accusations were made.
What's next?
The interviews scheduled for June 8 have been canceled. According to the previous schedule, the Cabinet of Ministers planned to determine the winner on June 10. Now the final decision on the further fate of the competition is expected in the near future - during the day after the meeting of the commission.
The process of election of the new head of Babs takes place in accordance with Law No. 10439, which provides for restarting the structure, a new personnel policy and the annual staff certification. The suspension of the competition asks not only its results, but also the ability of the authorities to adhere to the stated reform intentions.
