Reform of the Bureau of Economic Security: Easy to Start, but Most Important to Finish

Our song is good and new, let's start it again... a reboot of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES). Whether this approach will be more successful than previous ones, let's figure it out.

In fact, nothing particularly new is happening with the criminal justice system of Ukraine, despite the declaration of its next reformation. The system is fully under the control of the office of the President of Ukraine, more precisely, one of Andrii Yermak's most famous deputies, namely Oleh Tatarov. Of course, there are certain exceptions, such as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), but the rest are, if not Tatarov's direct proteges, then definitely subordinate to him in "necessary" processes.

Their name is legion, without literary exaggeration. If you take all the criminal justice bodies of Ukraine, then there will be two hundred thousand employees of the National Police of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine (SBI), the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), as well as the prosecutor's office. And imagine, everyone simultaneously keeps "in focus" the opinion of only one person from Bankova Street. The kind of person through whom the message is transmitted by only two.

At the beginning of October, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the composition of the second commission for the selection of the director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine. The previous time, way back in 2021, the first attempt ended in a colossal failure. The then commission was headed by Tymofii Mylovanov. It is worth noting that it was he who, in fact, implemented the idea planned on Bankova Street to promote Vadym Melnyk to the position of ex-superintendent of the tax police of Ukraine. And the other day, the Council of Public Control under the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine was elected.

By the way, the first director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, Vadym Melnyk, informed me on his own two months before the competitive selection that he would head this body. It is worth noting that this really became a reality. And who would doubt this decision if his candidacy was approved by the office of the President of Ukraine?

The key in the preliminary competition is the method of formation of the commission. In fact, all subsequent problems were created because of this. The said commission was to include three persons each from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC), the government and the parliament of Ukraine (two from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the request of the tax committee, one at the request of the law enforcement committee). Under such a configuration, there was no chance at all to get an honest, professional and independent director from the top political leadership of the state.

This was confirmed by a series of subsequent scandals that arose in our country in this area. In particular, we can mention the replacement of Vadym Melnyk with former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) Eduard Fedorov and ex-prosecutor Vitalii Hahach. Again, the dismissal of these two people from their positions, but which took place under very strange circumstances (we wrote about it in detail). And it is worth noting that all these events occurred against the background of the total inefficiency of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine itself.

Considering that this state body needed a reboot almost from the moment of its launch, it is worth noting that at the moment only the introduction of fundamental transformations can change anything, and not simple polishing of the facade.

Why it is necessary to reboot the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine and what it will give us

The first thing is that all their statistics do not prove anything, because they show false data to the last comma. What, in fact, should determine the effectiveness of the state body? Efficiency must be determined by trust on the part of the business. What should be the result? The result of the good work of the state body should be prevention, investigation and countermeasures against investigated financial crimes. Actually, the criteria for determining the effectiveness of this law enforcement body should be laid directly by the new Prosecutor General as the de facto head of the entire system of criminal justice bodies of Ukraine.

The second thing is that the reboot of this state body will not be done without the creation of full-fledged and functional disciplinary and personnel commissions. You don't have to look for a suitable example for a long time, just do it, as it was suggested during the launch of the reform of the prosecutor's office. But this should be done with the obligatory vote of the public representatives, who would be nominated by the key embassies-partners involved in the reform of the relevant system. This would increase the independence of the employees of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine.

The third thing is the creation of a basis for the specialization of prosecutors precisely for the purpose of highly qualified procedural management and, subsequently, public prosecution in courts. Such prosecutors must be well educated and trained. For example, take the ongoing training and advanced training for detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Relevant prosecutors must be organized into a department and distributed also among departments in the regions. Financial crimes are an extremely specific field, so it is necessary to institutionally invest in the knowledge and skills of such officers of justice.

The fourth thing is the specialization of judges in financial crimes. This is also important, because the consideration of court cases by law enforcement officers will be very difficult both in the capital and in the regions.

The fifth thing is the need to focus not only on rebooting the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, but also on creating a specialized infrastructure for preventing, detecting and stopping complex financial crimes. This task is the most important priority. For this, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine needs not only detectives, but also financial analysts, who should become the brain and heart of the said body. This important task should be put in a separate priority, which is parallel to the reboot.

Changes to the profile law of Ukraine are also necessary. They should basically include several important points:

• changes in the method of formation of the competitive committee for the election of the director (dominant or blocking role of international partners);
• one candidate-winner of the competition for the director, which is sent to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
• certification of all employees of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine within one year;
• attestation commissions should involve at least 50% of international representatives;
• after dismissal, an employee who has not passed certification cannot return to work at the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine for two years (analogy with the certification of prosecutors in 2019).

We have already written about these points in more detail.

Considering all this, it is good that the parliament of our country passed a government bill, which finally made it possible to move on from the reset point. But it is bad that it was perceived as the end and not just the beginning of the reform.

It is worth noting that according to the new rules of the game, the commission consists of six members instead of eight. If earlier it was a commission completely controlled by political figures on Bankova Street, now new chances have appeared. Currently, three members are appointed based on the proposal of international partners. And three more members are appointed independently by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Although legally all six are appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is a constitutionally correct decision. But…

The government has never been independent since the beginning of the term of office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, although we supposedly have a parliamentary-presidential republic. And we have a single decision-making center and the maximum concentration of power in the hands of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Therefore, I will not be surprised if, even with such good ideas prescribed in the law about rebooting the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, someone again wants to arrange the "figures" and conduct their affairs as they wish. It was not only on Bankova Street that they learned to calculate the course of the corresponding party. However, the Office of the President of Ukraine does not have the highest chances for a successful debut.

The adopted law on rebooting is really high-quality. But there is no such thing as ideal a priori. That's why we have to recall the well-written truths that should not be forgotten.

The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine is not a government body that fills the budget with money. Do not confuse it with the tax office. After all, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine is a pre-trial investigation body with the corresponding functionality provided for in Article 216 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPCU). When the creation of such a body was thought about, the key idea was to base it on analytical capabilities, adding to them the functionality of investigating financial crimes.

Not to chase criminals by conducting searches, obtaining temporary access to things and documents, temporarily seizing property in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, but to prevent crimes through the analysis and further preventive elimination of systemic violations in the sphere of economy and finance.

One more important thing to mention. In Ukrainian realities, state bodies are constantly managed from Bankova Street, although in accordance with relevant laws and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPCU), all these state bodies are independent. But we all understand that it should always be about institutions, and not about surnames. It is the institutions that must play a leading role, otherwise there will be no change.

The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BEB) should play its unique role in the system of criminal justice bodies, which was foreseen at the beginning of the discussions and launch of the said Bureau. Within the limits and in the manner specified in Article 19 of the Constitution of Ukraine. All this should take place without taxing business, without collecting money for the production of excise goods (tobacco, alcohol products, fuel) according to "form №2". We understand that the possibility of corresponding illegal steps is not formed in the central apparatus of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine. Of course, political leaders on Bankova Street are thinking about the upcoming elections and generating funds for further processes.

However, isn't it time to change approaches in a country that has been in a state of full-scale war for almost three years?

For example, shouldn't we start focusing on honest professionals in their field. And here we are talking about both the director and his deputies, as well as those employees who will undergo the appropriate attestation. "Jumping" should be stopped, "activist style" should be forgotten. This reform critically lacks systematicity and a basic understanding of why the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine was created in the first place.

 

Read this article in Ukrainian and russian.