Anti-corruption Research and Education Centre at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

“Despite the war in Ukraine, we must keep the fight against corruption high on the agenda. It is essential to establish effective oversight of the reconstruction process and public procurement across various sectors, from healthcare to energy. Because if a state fails in its own governance, it will also fail on the battlefield.” Andrii Biletskyi joined the Corruption & tax evasion, Podcast Sophie au pays des possibles 🎙️ Key topics of the conversation included: 🔹 the crucial role of civil society in combating corruption 🔹 innovative mechanisms of public oversight in state institutions 🔹 corruption risks in Ukraine’s defense, energy, and reconstruction sectors, and their impact on citizens’ lives 🔹 the importance of continuing the anti-corruption fight despite the war 🔹 the role of education in building a culture of integrity We sincerely thank for the invitation and meaningful discussion! 👉 Apple podcast: https://shorturl.at/dIesp 👉 Youtube: https://rb.gy/s2u31n 👉 Spotify: https://shorturl.at/wmBWG https://lnkd.in/exbsEErb

Institute for Global Analytics presented a new research “Political Graft in Europe on the Loose: Anti-Corruption Legal Frameworks in Comparative Historical Perspective”, in which ACREC team took part. The research offers a new comparative analysis of regulatory regimes addressing corruption in the fields of political financing, lobbying, revolving doors, and the media across 9 Western and Central-Eastern European countries, namely: Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Ukraine. The study: 🔹 applies a socio-constructivist approach, viewing laws as socially and politically embedded phenomena; 🔹 identifies key differences between Western and Central-Eastern European countries in their vulnerability to political corruption; 🔹 classifies European regulatory approaches to combating political corruption, among other findings. ________ This study was carried out within the framework of the RESPOND_EU research project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101132405. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. The European Commission is not responsible for any use of the information contained herein. Link to the research: https://lnkd.in/eeXWAPFg

On August 26-29, in Thessaloniki, Greece, we were invited to the Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research. Together with consortium partners from RESPOND_EU ACREC presented its research at the panel "New Lenses to Assess the Dynamics of Corruption and Anti-Corruption in a Connected World." 🎤Andrii Biletskyi presented the results of a study on the case of media capture by Taras Kozak and spoke about possible ways for Ukraine to respond to these challenges. 📌The panel was part of the section "Governments under Fire: Corruption in a Globalised World," organized by the ECPR group "(Anti-) Corruption and Integrity." The section included 9 panels, dedicated to various issues of understanding corruption, counteracting it, and discussing the challenges faced by researchers in this field.

In the new series for our partners RESPOND_EU, Andrii Biletskyi explains how Russia’s invasion has reshaped the corruption landscape in Ukraine 👉🏼 from reduced transparency in open data 👉🏼 to new risks in public procurement for the recovery of infrastructure, energy, and military needs.

Do you want to understand why Ukraine's anti-corruption authorities were under pressure from the government? Read the recent blog of our Administrative Director, Andrii Biletsky,i for The Policy Practice.

❗️What additional risks does Law No. 4555-IX create? This week, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted Law No. 4555-IX, undermining the independence of NABU and SAPO. At first glance, it seemed unrelated to other anti-corruption mechanisms. But the risks go deeper. In a new article for Ukrainska Pravda and the Global Anti-Corruption Blog, Oksana Nesterenko and Andrii Biletskyi argue that the law also poses significant risks to whistleblowers in Ukraine. Read more here: 🔹 Ukrainska Pravda: https://shorturl.at/pv5KE 🔹 Global Anti-Corruption Blog: https://shorturl.at/JpkBP

Today we celebrate the World Whistleblowers Day 2025! Whistleblowers play an important role in stopping corruption, dangerous working conditions, and abuse, both in government and in business. Ukraine has already started building a system to protect whistleblowers, and NGO ACREC is helping with this by sharing expert advice, training, research, and useful materials. Still, there are important challenges that remain. Among them: ❌ Ukraine has yet to adopt a comprehensive whistleblower protection law that would cover not only anti-corruption cases but also reports in other areas — such as environmental violations, human rights abuses, or threats to national security and defense. ❌ Because of the full-scale war, we also need clear rules for how people can report information that may be secret or sensitive. This is a crucial issue that still lacks proper legal clarity. ❗It’s important to keep talking about these issues. Without proper protection for whistleblowers, we can’t build trust of society. 📚 Find more ACREC’s research and resources on whistleblower protection in our library: https://lnkd.in/emuMff2k National Agency on Corruption Prevention - НАЗК, Transparency International Ukraine

This spring, ACREC team was at the centre of global discussions on transparency and recovery - at the The World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington! Oksana Nesterenko, ACREC's Executive Director, attended the event and represented Ukraine together with other partners. On 24 April, an extremely important panel discussion "Open Data as a Catalyst for Transparency and Sustainable Development" took place as part of the official programme of the Civil Society Policy Forum, organised by the Open Data Association. We would like to thank the representatives of YouControl and RISE Ukraine - Coalition for Reconstruction for taking part in this important discussion! The panel was moderated by Iryna Mykulych, Head of International Relations at the NGO Agency for Recovery and Development. The panelists discussed how open data can help governments, businesses and civil society make better decisions, build trust, fight corruption and ensure sustainable recovery from the crisis. The panelists included Yurii Romashko, Oksana Nesterenko, Klaus Deininger, and Nataliia Chornohub. Oksana Nesterenko, in her speech, emphasised the importance of open data in the fight against corruption, pointing out: "Over the past 14 years, Ukraine has made a real legislative revolution in creating reliable legal guarantees of access to information, including open data. At the same time, the practice of application shows that further improvement of both the legislation and the mechanisms for its implementation is needed to ensure real openness of data." We thank the team for this powerful opportunity and all the participants for the meaningful discussion and joint work on strengthening transparency and sustainable development!

📢 AbitFest at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy: what it was like! On March 15, the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy hosted AbitFest – an Open Day, bringing together prospective students eager for quality education and new opportunities in their future studies. 🎓 Participants got acquainted with the academic education at NaUKMA, learned more about educational programs, student life, and career prospects after graduation. 💡 Our ACREC team presented the Master’s program in Anti-Corruption Studies in an open space and highlighted its benefits for students: ✔️ Flexible learning – the program can be combined with work, and students can choose part of their courses independently. ✔️ Practical experience – internships at NACP, NABU, and leading civil society organizations such as Anti-Corruption Headquarters, the Institute of Legislative Ideas, the Center for Political and Legal Reforms, and others. ✔️ Expert faculty – among the lecturers are NABU detectives, investigative judges, top lawyers, and international experts. 📌 Learn more about our courses here: https://acrec.org.ua/en/ ✨ We do not just train specialists – we form a new generation of professionals who are ready to change our country. Thank you to everyone who joined us! If you have any questions, we are always in touch! 🚀

🎓✨On 13 February, the ACREC team took part in the Strategy Development Session on Integrity in Higher Education. Together with representatives from National Agency on Corruption Prevention, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, civil society organizations, and higher education institutions, we joined the discussions on the key issues: 📚What resources do academics and students need to develop a culture of integrity? 💡 How to engage agents of change and provide them secure access to information? 🏛 What recommendations should be adopted at the institutional level? 📊 How to measure the effectiveness of integrity projects? Karolina Shmalko, ACREC Project Assistant, and Iryna Selezniova, ACREC Education Programme Manager, actively joined the discussion. "The Strategy Development Session on Integrity in Higher Education became an important platform for meaningful discussion and joint solutions. It is essential that representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, participants of the educational process and civil society joined the event, as the difference of views was the key to a comprehensive and effective discussion,” said Karolina.  ❌💰 Higher education should not only be high quality, but also fair and free of corruption! We continue to work together on anti-corruption solutions that will help build a transparent and responsible education system in Ukraine!