Members of the newly elected Public Oversight Council (POC) at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) held their first meeting and met with NABU Director Semen Kryvonos.
The new POC includes two representatives of the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO): NAKO Executive Director Olena Tregub and NAKO Communications Director Yuliia Begletsova.
During the meeting, Council members elected Anton Shvets as Chair of the POC, selected a Deputy Chair and Secretary, and delegated Council members to NABU’s selection and disciplinary commissions.
These commissions will serve as the main mechanism through which the POC carries out its work across specific areas of NABU’s activities. Their members will conduct public oversight, analyze systemic challenges, develop recommendations to improve the Bureau’s work, and coordinate engagement with civil society and the expert community.
The Council members also shared their plans and identified priority areas for the coming period.
Particular attention was paid to the defence sector. NABU Director Semen Kryvonos emphasized that investigating corruption in the defence sector remains one of the Bureau’s key priorities.
For their part, NAKO Executive Director Olena Tregub and Deputy Chair of the Public Oversight Council Anton Mykytiuk proposed establishing systematic coordination between the NABU Public Oversight Council and the Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. Such cooperation would strengthen public oversight of defence procurement and improve responses to corruption risks in the security and defence sector.
As a reminder, 15 civil society representatives were elected to the new NABU Public Oversight Council through an open online vote. The Council includes representatives of civil society organizations, think tanks, the legal community, journalists, and experts in anti-corruption policy, security, and defence. Over the next two years, they will provide public oversight of NABU’s activities.