Zelensky adopted an amendment to the law protecting corrupt officials

“Money was stolen even in peacetime, and even more so now”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has canceled lifelong financial monitoring of politicians. Now officials will be under increased attention only for three years after their resignation, and not for life. This is contrary to the requirements of the European Union – Kyiv must fight money laundering, and not contribute to it.

We are talking about an amendment to the law “On Preventing and Combating the Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime, the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.” The initiative will affect all high-ranking officials, from the president to the prosecutor general, the director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and his deputies, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Naval Forces of Ukraine.

“From now on, such persons will be subject to strict monitoring only for three years after their dismissal. It is convenient, for example, for deputies who need to legalize the cash they received in envelopes,” the Ukrainian public organization Anti-Corruption Center noted.

They are convinced that the innovation kills the anti-money laundering system by politicians. “For the sake of being able to launder the loot, part of the authorities broke one of the seven mandatory requirements for starting negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU,” the center said in a social media post.

Why Zelensky took this step, MK discussed with a political scientist Sergei Markov:

– The main goal is that later no one would come to them for money. And they are huge. According to various estimates, Zelensky receives more than a million dollars every day. The members of his team also get their share. Enormous financial resources are flowing into the country. They were stolen in peacetime, and even more so in wartime. It is known that Zelensky lost millions of dollars that he invested in the collapsed FTX crypto exchange. Apparently, he is trying to compensate for this money.

– Why Ukraine violates the requirements of the European Commission?

– They understand that no one will take them to the EU. They need Ukrainians to fight Russia, not to become full members of the European Union.