Ukraine’s anti-graft watchdog hands reward to whistleblower, in first

The National Agency for Corruption Prevention made the first ever payment to a whistleblower who, serving as an MoD internal audit department chief, tipped the agency about a private company management approaching him with a UAH 24 million bribe offer in 2021.

This was reported by the NAPC press service, Ukrinform saw.

"According to Art. 53-7 of the Law of Ukraine on corruption prevention, the whistleblower can receive 10% of the sum involved in the corruption-related crime or the amount of damage the crime inflicted on the budget if the court hands down a guilty verdict,” the statement reads.

Since the law allowed payments to whistleblowers in corruption cases in 2019, courts have already issued two guilty verdicts but whistleblowers had received no rewards due to poorly regulated procedures.

NAPC chief Viktor Pavluschyk said joint efforts had been made with the Cabinet, State Treasury Serice, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Economy to streamline such payments.

The first reward actually paid is a “fundamental event for the further development of whistleblowing practices in Ukraine,” the NAPC chief stressed.

As reported, the anti-corruption audit of legal acts, the NAPC identified 13 corruption-inducing factors.