TI Ukraine continues to analyze the work of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). In the course of the year, our monitors attended 432 court hearings, where they collected analytical materials on the most high-profile corruption cases considered by the court. As a result of this work, TI Ukraine's experts prepared a comprehensive analysis of the HACC’s activities from January to September 2023. It included the institutional and operational aspects of the court's work and the results of monitoring 59 of the most high-profile corruption cases pending pre-trial and trial. This was already the fourth report on this topic, so the monitoring of the HACC’s activities covers all periods since the establishment of the institution and continues to this day.

Currently, TI Ukraine experts are focused on 78 different corruption proceedings. To cover the cases considered by the Anti-Corruption Court as fully and in detail as possible, we will soon launch a special online platform. This resource will reflect all HACC cases, as well as decisions on them, detailed analytics, infographics on the stages of the trial, etc.

TI Ukraine presented the second study of the capacity, governance and interaction of the Anti-Corruption Infrastructure. According to its results, starting from 2020, all anti-corruption agencies have improved their institutional capacity—the average indicator has increased by 0.5 points (from 3.4 to 3.9 out of 5 possible). This indicates a real strengthening of the anti-corruption ecosystem. The NABU, the SAPO, the HACC, the NACP, and the ARMA have sufficient institutional capabilities to implement the functions assigned to them.

However, each body has its own list of issues that need to be addressed. The most relevant problems in late 2023 included:

1. the need to develop and adopt a legislative framework to counter the abuse of procedural rights among participants in criminal proceedings and the possibility of considering a certain category of cases by HACC judges single-handedly;
2. the need to introduce a system for assessing the effectiveness of prosecutors, including SAPO prosecutors;
3. the urgency to ensure the creation of an independent expert service for NABU cases;
4. the need to align the staffing structure of the NABU with the legislation and to conduct transparent and open competitions for vacant positions;
5. ensuring a proper regulatory framework to conduct an external audit of the ARMA's activities.

According to the results of this year's study, TI Ukraine provided 25 priority recommendations. Their implementation will make anti-corruption bodies more effective. All these tips and opportunities to implement them were communicated and, when possible, discussed with the institutions under study. Thus, this study has become a marker of the capacity of the anti-corruption ecosystem. Its systematic nature makes it possible to measure the development of anti-corruption bodies over time and identify gaps and opportunities for improving the anti-corruption system.

TI Ukraine thoroughly monitored and informed the public about all stages of competitions for the selection of the leadership of anti-corruption bodies and the overall streamlining of these institutions. In particular, our experts participated in the selection of candidates for the positions of SAPO prosecutors, which began on August 18, 2023. A representative of TI Ukraine was a member of the selection commission. On November 14, the commission for the selection of SAPO prosecutors announced the names of 4 winners of the competition.

TI Ukraine monitored the selection of the NABU Director. Our experts analyzed all available public information about the participants and closely followed online interviews, and prepared a detailed summary of them. On March 6, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine unanimously decided to appoint Semyon Kryvonos to the position of NABU Director at an extraordinary meeting.

Our experts also followed the competition for the Head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA). In the course of the competition, TI Ukraine informed the public about all its stages, provided information about the key stages and the schedule of the competition, as well as analyzed the dossiers of 10 candidates who reached the stage of final interviews. On June 28, the commission for the selection of the ARMA Head decided on the winner of the competition: it was Olena Duma, the ex-deputy head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration. Transparency International Ukraine, other civil society organizations, and the professional community opposed the selection of Duma as the Head of the Agency.

After the appointment of the new head, TI Ukraine specialists continued to closely monitor the work of the ARMA. Our observations of the Agency's work showed that the transparency declared by the ARMA was very selective, while systemic problems in the work of the body remained. We are certain that the ARMA needs comprehensive reform, which should include a system of transparent selection of the Agency's Head, full planning before asset seizure, prioritizing the seizure of assets by criminal courts, transparent procedures for managing, selling, and evaluating assets and unlocking the ability to manage corporate rights. The European Commission adheres to the same position in its report.

TI Ukraine actively participated in the NACP's development of the State Anti-Corruption Program (SACP). On March 4, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted this document, which is crucial for the implementation of anti-corruption policy. Our experts, having studied it in detail, provided their comments.

Among our important concerns that are not reflected in the SACP is the lack of a unified definition of “conflict of interest” at the legislative level, a number of blind spots in the section on financial control, the lack of a requirement for an independent audit of financial statements for all state-owned enterprises, etc. Unfortunately, all our comments were not considered by the former Head of the NACP, but we hope for fruitful cooperation in these matters with the new Head of the Agency.

TI Ukraine continued to actively monitor the work of the NACP. In particular, we thoroughly analyzed the results of the external independent assessment of the NACP’s activities in 2020–2021, and we also joined the campaign to restore mandatory declaration of officials. We provided the commission for the selection of the NACP Head with all the results of monitoring. It took into account our recommendations and reservations in the course of the competition.

Overall, in 2023, TI Ukraine experts analyzed more than 100 draft laws, decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers, decisions of the High Anti-Corruption Court, and other documents related to the anti-corruption policy of Ukraine.

These and other important achievements eventually led Ukraine to negotiations on its accession to the European Union. It is the implementation of reforms, including anti-corruption ones, that was among the main requirements for the opening of official negotiations after we were granted the status of a candidate for the EU.

In 2023, there were more competitive tenders, more rebuilding-related procurement, and more scandals. Drums and stadiums, vegetable slicers, landscaping—stories about these procurement transactions were a hot topic for months. In some cities, communities of residents actively controlling the distribution of local budget funds have formed; they are influencing where the money will go.

Such stories are possible due to Prozorro. It is thanks to the system that we can review these tenders, with all the details. Over the past year, we have constantly monitored procurement, looking for deficiencies and achievements. Upon our appeals, procuring entities corrected problems in procurement transactions or canceled them if it was too late to correct something, saving more than UAH 500 million. We usually try to communicate with procuring entities where it's possible, explaining to them what is wrong so that they eliminate the risks.

Of course, there are times when this option does not work. Therefore, procurement transactions worth UAH 900 million are planned to be checked by the State Audit Service and the Antimonopoly Committee upon our appeals. The prosecutor's office has opened 41 criminal proceedings regarding tenders for almost UAH 550 million. In total, more than 2,000 tenders were checked, and 775 letters were referred to procuring entities, supervisory bodies, and law enforcement officers. We also found a company of a Russian origin, which continued to receive contracts. We appealed to the SSU, and the agency promised to investigate the situation. In autumn, it blocked the resource.

In addition to situational monitoring, our team conducted profound research in the field. This always takes longer, and the result may not be immediately obvious. We take the conclusions of our analytics as a basis for the development of new solutions and their advocacy. Last year, our study on the monitoring of auditors grew into a separate area of work with the State Audit Service. In particular, a draft law on blocking payments was suspended, and a reasonable alternative was offered, which we are still discussing. We hope that in the future, this cooperation will allow for the development of the State Audit Service.

In addition, we have become one of the partners in the development of the State Rear Operator—a procurement agency in the field of defense, which will ensure non-lethal needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is part of the defense procurement reform, and we believe we will be able to achieve fairer, more efficient, and more transparent contracts for the army.

Another last-year achievement is the development of the BI Prozorro module. This is the most powerful procurement analysis tool in the country, and it has become even more functional. An application was launched to study contracts, with tools for comparing indicators and developing objects. The module now works twice as fast.

We also launched a new app for price analysis in Prozorro Market. So, now it's easier for procuring entities to determine market prices to roughly understand which amounts to voice and announce procurement. To help them find the best prices for contracts that are awarded directly, we, together with the KSE Centre of Excellence in Procurement, developed a step-by-step methodology. It was published and transferred to the Ministry of Economy in early 2024.

In addition, we help to develop the Prozorro system itself. Our team helped implement product crowdsourcing in Prozorro Market; this allowed businesses and centralized procurement organizations to add new products to the electronic catalog much more easily, transparently, and cheaply. Of course, Prozorro Market entails more work to be done, and we are glad that we can help improve this tool.

In addition, we worked hard to develop a methodology for the procuring entity assessment tool. This will help understand how effective the work of procuring entities is. This year, we plan to complete the work on the methodology and refer it to the Ministry of Economy.

Systemic changes will remain among our priorities in the future. We are sure that this is how, by supporting all players in the field, we will be able to achieve truly effective results.

The program opened 2023 with an assessment of the transparency of Ukrainian cities for 2022. For the first time, our team conducted a study adapted to military realities according to the new methodology and presented the results of the state of transparency in 70 cities of Ukraine. Instead of the usual scores and ranking, we introduced the status of the city (“transparent,” “partially transparent,” and “non-transparent”) and the level of fulfilling research indicators.

According to the results, three cities were recognized as “transparent”—Dnipro, Lviv, and Mukachevo. Ten cities: Vinnytsia, Volodymyr, Zhytomyr, Kamianske, Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Lutsk, Ternopil, Uzhhorod, Chernivtsi were marked as “partially transparent.” The rest 57 cities were recognized as “non-transparent.”

But the results of the study should be interpreted considering the conditions in which Ukrainian cities find themselves. At the beginning of the war, the local authorities faced a difficult task: it was necessary to save people's lives and at the same time not to lose the transparency in their operation. Often, due to security risks, some cities closed the data completely, suspended the work of official portals, held meetings behind closed doors, did not announce them, while others partially limited access to information that the enemy could use, in their opinion. This also affected the overall results of the study.

In late 2023, the team presented an updated Methodology for assessing city transparency in 2023. Like last year, the study will be adapted to military realities, but this time, the assessment will be conducted among the 80 largest cities in Ukraine according to 50 indicators.

We are certain that the war is not a reason for the authorities to close access to all information. On the contrary, local authorities should increase transparency where it does not threaten security. It is important to find a balance between security and transparency, and the program helps local authorities to adhere to this principle in every possible way.

Therefore, Transparent Cities continued to support municipalities along this path and advised local authorities on various issues, from ensuring openness of data to adapting to war conditions. Our analysts studied in detail the situation in the cities and provided individual recommendations to increase the level of transparency: Stryi, Sumy, Mukachevo, Shostka, Drohobych.

To support cities during the war, the program created the Cities Emergency Fund. Within the framework of the fund's activities, TI Ukraine has helped 19 cities: Sievierodonetsk, Kropyvnytskyi, Lysychansk, Bakhmut, Zaporizhzhia, Konotop, Kupiansk, Nikopol, Pokrovsk, Sloviansk, Sumy, Kherson, and others. The geography of the Fund's assistance covered 11 oblasts of Ukraine, and the total amount of purchased goods was about UAH 1.9 million. Within the framework of the Cities Emergency Fund, we provided motor pumps, generators, charging stations, heaters, furniture, and other equipment.

Transparent Cities also advocated decolonization. Our team developed a special guide for local authorities and citizens on how to strip the public space of Ukrainian cities of Russian and Soviet toponyms. This document assists local governments and the public in renaming streets, squares, bridges, parks, etc. In it, the program experts collected all the materials on the renaming processes and explained in detail how to properly decolonize toponyms in our cities. We paid special attention to the role of the community in de-Russification and provided a petition template, which citizens could use to apply to local authorities with a request to rename a particular toponym.

We developed a guide to dismantling Russian monuments, studied how cities updated address plaques and analyzed the experience of partner countries that renamed streets, boulevards, squares, parks, and alleys in support of Ukraine.

The program joined the meeting of the Working Group on Ukraine of the European Committee of the Regions in Gdańsk, where we spoke about the achievements of Ukrainian cities on the path to transparency during the war, the role of the Program in this, the current context of the work of local authorities, and the main challenges in the reconstruction process. The participants of the meeting assured us that they would provide our country with constant humanitarian assistance, support the reconstruction of cities, and also contribute to the integration of Ukraine into the European Union.

The organization continues to develop a comprehensive research and analytical framework to improve the policy on assets related to sanctioned individuals and entities. In particular, together with Ukrainska Pravda, TI Ukraine launched the How to Confiscate Russian Assets in Ukraine portal. It describes all the existing mechanisms for confiscation of (pro-)Russian assets in Ukraine, their stages, risks and ways to neutralize them. The platform is updated regularly and also indicates what will happen to all these assets in the future.

TI Ukraine experts analyzed the practice of the transfer and further management of 679 confiscated sanctioned assets. The results of this analysis demonstrated the ineffectiveness of management processes due to delays or unreasonable managerial and procedural decisions on the part of key actors.

We also identified the reasons for blocking the sale of confiscated sanctioned assets. As a result, we advocated amendments to the Law on Sanctions before the government and MPs because due to an improper regulation, the sale of almost 700 sanctioned assets managed by the SPFU was blocked. Because of this, the funds from the sale of this property were never used to eliminate the consequences of armed aggression.

Transparency International Ukraine also analyzed other issues related to the problems of the confiscation of criminal property. Our specialists analyzed regulatory acts at the national and international levels and identified conceptual problems that may impede the effective use of asset recovery tools in criminal proceedings. Based on the studied data, TI Ukraine experts provided recommendations on changes in legislation to improve confiscation and ways to update this process.

The lawyers of TI Ukraine, considering the above issues, prepared 6 comprehensive analyses of changes to the current domestic and European sanctions legislation and HACC sanctions cases, as well as analyzed 1 draft law and 20 government decisions on the management and sale of already confiscated assets.

Public property management

In the field of public asset management, TI Ukraine joined a working group that developed a draft law on improving the procedure for the dissolution of state-owned enterprises by the decision of the State Property Fund. Our proposals to minimize corruption risks of this initiative, in particular during the selection of SOE dissolution managers, were considered in the adopted law.

The proposals of TI Ukraine were partially reflected in anti-corruption measures in the field of public property management, which are enshrined in the State Anti-Corruption Program for 2023–2025.

During the year, we actively monitored privatization processes. Last June, we marked 5 years since auctions for the sale of public and municipal property began to be held through Prozorro.Sale. TI Ukraine joined the creation of this project, which eventually helped the state and communities earn UAH 13.6 billion.

In September, we summed up the results of the year after the resumption of privatization, which had practically stopped since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The simplification of privatization procedures met the expectations for the sale of public assets. However, at the local level, we recorded certain negative trends.

According to the latest Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment from the World Bank, the UN, and the Government of Ukraine, Ukraine's recovery needs amount to approximately USD 486 billion. This figure will only grow.

Despite the fact that the war continues and probably will not end in the near future, Ukraine was forced to plan and implement its reconstruction almost from the very start of hostilities.

No other European country has faced such losses since the World War II. Therefore, Ukraine had to develop approaches to its recovery from scratch: regarding the prioritization of reconstruction projects, the distribution of funding, compensation procedures, and much more.

At all stages, the team of Transparency International Ukraine is actively involved in the development of relevant legislation. First of all, as one of the co-founders and members of the RISE Ukraine Coalition, we advocated the creation of a unified electronic reconstruction management system, which was embodied in DREAM in 2023.

Another important achievement of this area of our activities is the approved methodology for prioritizing reconstruction projects from the Remediation Fund, which we helped to create. In particular, we insisted that indicators regarding a project's connection to the consequences of the destruction should have a significant weight in the assessment. In addition, we have achieved an increase in the weight of the criteria for projects related to the restoration of housing and housing for internally displaced persons. This methodology was approved by the Ministry for Restoration, and it should be used to select projects that will be financed from the Remediation Fund.

We contributed to developing regulatory acts governing compensation for property destroyed and damaged as a result of the war. We also monitored how the legislation was implemented in practice and proposed changes to improve it.

In addition, we began to develop the direction of public monitoring of reconstruction projects, worked out a detailed methodology for such monitoring. In addition to our analysts, it is already used by other civil society organizations, in particular the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.

In 2024, we plan to continue working on improving the legislative framework for reconstruction, as well as actively monitoring reconstruction projects. We also plan to study in more detail how local damage assessment commissions function in practice; following their decisions, the state compensates for losses in the future.

Experts estimate the needs for critical recovery in 2024 alone at USD 15.3 billion. But the difference between the need and available resources is roughly USD 10.5 billion. Therefore, we will advocate that limited resources be allocated according to a single methodology, rather than manually. We will check how this financing is implemented, identify violations, and seek their correction.

Ukrainians are now in a state of total transformation—migration flows, social challenges, rethinking history, prioritizing values, etc. Tolerance for corruption in the country and the tone of conversations about corruption are also changing; citizens are gaining more agency, are ready to fight and defend their rights.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, there have been many social processes, so, it is important to notice these changes in time, to understand the expectations, problems, and needs of society. Therefore, in 2023, for the first time, at the request of Transparency International Ukraine, the Info Sapiens research agency conducted two waves of a sociological survey of the Ukrainian population about the needs and expectations of the future reconstruction of Ukraine. The first wave covered the period of March­–April 2023 and the second wave covered the period of November 2023.

Both waves surveyed the adult population of Ukraine living in the country at the time of research. In addition, each wave had additional components and covered certain target audiences. Thus, in the first wave, the respondents were citizens of Ukraine and business representatives. The collected data represented the opinions of citizens and businesses on the main issues: expectations of reconstruction, vision for reconstruction, trust in institutions, key risks and ways to neutralize them.

In spring 2023, Ukrainians listed war (100%), destruction of infrastructure and housing (98%), as well as corruption (94%) as the main problems of the country. The business at that time identified the lack of solvent demand, low purchasing power, loss of qualified personnel, problems with the supply chain, and loss of logistics links as their pressure points.

The vast majority of respondents named the following key recovery principles: decentralization of funds (76% of Ukrainians and 78% of business representatives agreed with this opinion), an early reconstruction strategy (86% of Ukrainians and 81% of business representatives), transparency and openness of reconstruction (79% of the population and 62% of businesses), engagement of citizens and businesses (94% of the population and 91% of entrepreneurs), the quality of work as a priority (the tendency to rely on reputation criteria among business representatives is significantly higher than among the population — 71%-73% among businesses versus 56% among the population).

In spring 2023, both the population (59%) and business (63%) were convinced that housing for those who lost it should be built now, and not wait for major construction after the victory. However, 73% of Ukrainians and 80% of business representatives were most concerned about the resumption of corruption schemes in reconstruction processes.

In November 2023, together with the Info Sapiens research agency, we conducted the second wave of the sociological survey on challenges and problems, expectations, and overall assessments of the situation. In addition to the classical sample of the adult population of Ukraine, this wave included studying the opinion of mayors of de-occupied or front-line cities. The questions in the survey of mayors concerned problems, demand expectations, and assessments of the progress of the recovery processes in Ukraine.

In autumn, Ukrainians considered war (96%), corruption (88%), and destruction of infrastructure and housing (82%) to be the three main problems, just as they did in March. The respondents began to worry more about the problems related to the economy: the high cost of living and low incomes and the outflow of the able-bodied population from Ukraine.

In general, in late 2023, the current reconstruction processes met or exceeded the expectations of 46% of Ukrainians. They were most positively perceived in the eastern (52%) and northern (50%) regions of Ukraine. The survey also showed that in November 2023, Ukrainians were preparing for a lengthier reconstruction than they had expected six months earlier. In March, 63% of the population believed that reconstruction would last more than 10 years, and in November, it was already 73%. The same forecasts were given by Ukrainians regarding the economic recovery: 70% believed that this process would last up to 10 years or more.

Notably, in the second wave of the survey, the majority (65%) of those who suffered damage and destruction (17% of all respondents) mentioned that they had not applied for compensation. Of them, one in three (37%) believed that the state had more urgent needs.

In November 2023, 10 in-depth interviews with mayors and their deputies were conducted as part of the study. As a result, TI Ukraine found that, according to city leaders, future reconstruction should take place with a clear and understandable concept of reconstruction and distribution of funds between larger and smaller cities, taking into account the scale of destruction and the number of IDPs when distributing funds.

As shown by two waves of research, at the end of 2023, society was somewhat exhausted, the number of issues that worried Ukrainians increased, and these worries intensified. Ukrainians expressed a feeling of fatigue, disappointment, and confusion about the future more frequently, and at the same time, there was a demand for specific communication, clear long-term plans, and real engagement of citizens in all processes and, above all, in reconstruction.

In 2023, TI Ukraine continued to actively cooperate with international partners. First of all, we advocated transparent recovery of Ukraine and the continuation of anti-corruption reforms that move our state towards membership in the European Union.

Together, we managed to restore e-declaration and political parties reporting. In 2023, a significant part of previously closed data was finally opened, in particular, in the field of defense procurement. An important advocacy achievement was the support of the DREAM system by international partners, which would help Ukraine recover more effectively. Ukraine was able to implement the vast majority of the Commission's recommendations and start accession negotiations with the EU; we are proud to have contributed to this progress.

TI Ukraine strives to make Ukraine's voice abroad sound as loud as possible. Therefore, our experts made 15 advocacy trips to 10 countries of the world, including the United States, Great Britain, Norway, France, Estonia, and other European countries.

We conveyed our interests to European and American high-ranking officials who directly participate in decision-making processes. In particular, over the past year, representatives of TI Ukraine held a number of advocacy meetings with congressmen, representatives of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. We sought to demonstrate Ukraine's achievements in the fight against corruption, as this contributes to the provision of military and financial assistance to us.

At the level of the European Union, we communicated with MEPs, the Secretariat of the European Commission, and the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, the EU Foreign Office, etc. Together with our European partners, we discussed the changes Ukraine needs to introduce in anti-corruption and transparent recovery so that they would later become part of a plan of mandatory reforms.

Our experts attended the international conference on Ukraine’s recovery, the international anti-corruption conference in Oslo, the Brussels Forum, the Conference of International Investigators, etc.

In addition to participating in specialized conferences, the team actively participated and co-organized additional side events. In June, within the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, we, together with leading think tanks and CSOs, organized an event dedicated to key steps towards transparent and accountable reconstruction of Ukraine.

In autumn, TI Ukraine, together with the National Democratic Institute, organized a panel discussion on national security and corruption issues within the Open Government Partnership Global Summit. In September, within the framework of the UN General Assembly, Andrii Borovyk, TI Ukraine’s Executive Director, visited Washington to take part in a panel on the European integration of Ukraine and Moldova. In addition, in winter, at the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Atlanta, we held a panel on the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine in partnership with the Basel Institute on Governance and the NACP.

In Kyiv, TI Ukraine held 3 public events attended by more than 130 international partners, representatives of the anti-corruption sector and donor organizations.

TI Ukraine continued its analytical activities and research together with international partners. We worked closely with a number of the world's leading think tanks, such as the Brookings Institution, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Open Government Partnership, the National Democratic Institute, the Open Contracting Partnership, etc. Together with the Basel Institute on Governance, we provided our comments and recommendations on enhancing anti-corruption measures to ensure transparent reconstruction.

In addition, TI Ukraine and other organizations of the Transparency International movement in Latvia, Germany, and the United Kingdom agreed to cooperate in the field of recovering confiscated criminal assets of Ukrainian officials. The experience of our foreign colleagues will help us identify weaknesses in our legislation and strengthen Ukrainian justice in the field of property confiscation.