Ukraine has shown progress in the fight against corruption despite the Russian invasion, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), a scale of least to most corrupt nations, revealed.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Ukraine received 33 points out of 100 in the CPI for 2022. The country’s score has increased by one point compared to 2021, and now Ukraine ranks in 116th place. The points scored in 2022 are the highest indicator of Ukraine since the launch of the updated CPI methodology.
Among the undoubted positive results of 2022 are – the adoption of the State Anti-Corruption Strategy, and the appointment of the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which became a driving force for intensifying investigations into high-profile corruption. Moreover, the High Anti-Corruption Court showed its effectiveness — in 2022, the court considered 49 cases, 37 of which resulted in sentences.
According to the results of the 2021 CPI, Transparency International Ukraine provided the authorities with five recommendations, the implementation of which could improve the country’s performance in the study. None of these recommendations were fully implemented, four were partially implemented, and one was not implemented at all.
Partially implemented:
- Complete the competitions and select professional, independent, and honest leaders of the anti-corruption ecosystem: the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau
- Adopt the State Anti-Corruption Strategy and the program for its implementation
- Ensure transparent accounting of public property and continue on the path to privatization
- Minimize the risks of adopting draft laws that remove procurement from the scope of the Law of Ukraine “On Public Procurement
Not implemented:
- Conduct the reform of constitutional justice, considering the opinions provided by the Venice Commission
According to Transparency International Ukraine’s recommendations, judicial reform, availability of open data, transparent procurement of recovery, and electing independent heads for anti-corruption bodies will improve the level of anti-corruption and contribute to the effective recovery of Ukraine in 2023.
