Prosecutor Chosen As Ukraine’s New Anti-Corruption Chief

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KYIV — A selection commission has named a new chief for Ukraine’s National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPZK), an independent body that outlines and implements policies to prevent fraud.

The six-member commission unanimously supported Oleksandr Novikov on December 16 as the NAZPK’s new head.

Novikov is a prosecutor who was leading a department in Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office.

The final confirmation of the nomination must be made by the government before January 1, the day the new chief is expected to start work at the post.

The selection committee’s staff was approved by the government in late October. The body is co-chaired by Tilman Hoppe, a former anti-corruption expert with the European Council, and Kateryna Ryzhenko of Transparency International Ukraine.

The NAPZK has been functioning since 2016.

It was established to eradicate deep-rooted corruption in Ukraine along with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, after pro-European Maidan protests that toppled Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych.