Photo from UNIAN

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov says he has no doubts that Russia is involved in decision-making by Ukraine's Constitutional Court on repealing criminal liability for inaccurate e-declarations.

Danilov said this on the air of Savik Shuster's Freedom of Speech program on TV Channel Ukraina.

Read alsoAnti-graft agency restores public access to government officials' e-declarations

Видео дня

"Speaking at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council yesterday, I stressed that we were tracing clear actions by a certain group of persons aimed at destroying the statehood of Ukraine," Danilov said.

"Such decisions made by these persons [judges of the Constitutional Court] are aimed precisely at this. And believe me, time will pass, everything will fall right into place, and it will be clear who is the mastermind behind this. I have almost no doubts about a high probability of the aggressor country's involvement," he added.

"They should be aware that such decisions cannot be made without consultation ... but they as figures representing the state should have held such consultations," Danilov added.

Constitutional Court's controversial decision on illegal enrichment: Facts

  • On October 27, the Constitutional Court ruled on a motion filed by 47 legislators to repeal Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code, which provides for criminal liability for inaccurate asset declaration by government officials.
  • The Constitutional Court also recognized the provisions of laws on the verification of officials' e-declarations as unconstitutional and deprived the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) of the authority to check asset declarations and identify conflicts of interest.
  • The Constitutional Court, by its decision, blocked the NACP's access to the state registers necessary for conducting special checks on declarations of candidates nominated for top positions in the government. Without such vetting, no head of a government agency could be appointed officially.
  • On October 28, the NACP closed access to the State E-Declarations Register.
  • On October 28, the Constitutional Court published the text of the respective decision adopted by its Grand Chamber, composed of 15 judges.
  • The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said that pursuant to the Constitutional Court's decision, all cases of inaccurate declaration of assets would be closed, and government officials convicted of abuse would thus evade liability.
  • On October 29, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave instructions at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council to immediately table a bill in parliament that provides for the restoration of the integrity of legal proceedings in the Constitutional Court.