Shadow Report: Combating Organised Crime

During 2023–2024, the Overarching Strategic Plan for Reforming Law Enforcement Agencies as part of the Security and Defence Sector of Ukraine for 2023–2027 and the Government’s Action Plan for its implementation were adopted. These documents are key to state policy in the field of law enforcement system development.

Legislation in the field of combating organised crime requires improvement. In September 2020, the National Security Strategy and the Strategy for Combating Organised Crime were approved. It is important to define the status of the National Coordinator, who will provide organisational support for the implementation of state policy in the field of combating organised crime. Currently, these functions are temporarily assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. In 2022, an Interagency Working Group was established to coordinate the introduction of the SOCTA assessment system. In 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine submitted a report on the results of the assessment of threats posed by serious organised crime to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine. The results of this assessment should form the basis for the Strategy for Combating Organised Crime for 2026–2030. In 2025, a phased transformation of operational and search activities into criminal intelligence is planned, with the establishment of clear criteria for distinguishing it from criminal procedural, intelligence and counterintelligence activities.

In June 2024, the law on the “relaunch” of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine entered into force. The competition for the position of Director of this body has been completed, but the process of appointing the winner of the competition has been complicated. After this, the process of attesting its staff is expected to begin, which will last up to 18 months. At the same time, these steps should be a priority, and subsequently, efforts should focus on enhancing the analytical capacity of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, introducing modern management practices, assessment systems, etc., for the comprehensive reform of this law enforcement body.

All pre-trial investigation bodies are to varying degrees responsible for investigating financial crimes. In October 2024, Ukraine approved a Procedure that defines the concepts of financial investigation, financial analysis, their purpose, and the principles of financial analysis in the meanings provided in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 30. The issue of delineating the investigative jurisdiction of pre-trial investigation bodies regarding financial investigations, including predicate offences, remains relevant, as does the improvement of the criminal statistics collection system concerning financial investigations as a separate category of criminal proceedings.

The reform of the National Agency of Ukraine for Detection, Search and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes has begun. There are certain improvements in the anti-money laundering system at the level of draft laws. The quality of implementation of the Action Plan for the Asset Recovery Strategy remains formal and lacks an adequate level of public engagement in practice.

A separate law on civilian firearms has not yet been adopted, and the conditions for the acquisition, storage, registration, safeguarding, carrying, transportation and use of firearms are regulated by a subordinate legal act. In 2023, the Unified Firearms Register became operational, and in 2024, a Coordination Centre for Combating the Illicit Trafficking in Firearms, Their Essential Parts and Components, and Ammunition (NFFP) was established. Criminal liability for illicit trafficking in firearms is inadequate, and the illicit trafficking in essential parts of firearms has not been criminalised at all. Legislative decisions on these matters are under consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The reform of the Security Service of Ukraine remains an open issue, considering the requirements of wartime. The general direction of the reform — transforming the SSU into a counterintelligence body — is supported by all stakeholders. However, the scope of such reform is viewed differently, primarily in relation to the retention of investigative functions for crimes against national security and terrorism.

Combating corruption within law enforcement agencies is carried out through the implementation of several anti-corruption measures provided for in anti-corruption strategies, the adoption of which is mandatory. Relevant anti-corruption prevention and enforcement units are responsible for this. Overall, the internal control system is well-developed, and the requirements for professional ethics and integrity are gradually being strengthened.

Recruitment to positions in all law enforcement agencies is carried out on a competitive basis. Appointments to managerial positions in new agencies (the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine) are made following competitive selection. In contrast, such competitions are currently not mandatory in the National Police of Ukraine. The competitive appointment of the Head of the National Police of Ukraine and the overall depoliticisation of the police remain pressing issues. The Rule of Law Roadmap has provided clarity regarding the Government’s plans on this matter, but the relevant measures require effective implementation.

Ukraine actively cooperates with European bodies for international cooperation — Eurojust and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). It has working arrangements with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) and actively uses such instruments as Joint Investigation Teams (JITs).

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has brought new challenges in the field of combating trafficking in human beings, associated with increased risks of falling into situations of trafficking due to internal displacement or travel abroad, lack of access to occupied territories, destruction of critical infrastructure, economic destabilisation, and other factors. These challenges significantly complicate the activities and affect the entire system of actors involved in combating trafficking in human beings in Ukraine. Certain systemic issues that existed before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia remain unresolved, and no substantial progress was made in addressing them during 2023–2024. Specifically, these relate to gaps in legislation and inconsistency with international standards and recommendations of international institutions; the ineffectiveness of criminal prosecution of trafficking-related crimes by law enforcement agencies, with a low number of convictions and a near-total absence of compensation paid to victims, among other issues.

Cybersecurity and combating cybercrime are priorities under the Strategy adopted in 2021. A new challenge in the context of war has been cyberattacks on critical infrastructure facilities. Liability for cybercrimes requires improvement, primarily through the introduction of the concept of “cyberviolence.” The concept of electronic evidence is still absent from the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, unlike in other proceedings (administrative, civil, commercial).

The witness protection system mainly consists of physical security measures — personal protection and warning of danger. At the same time, no threat assessment is carried out, and the material support of the system is insufficient. The legal framework is outdated and does not meet current needs, as the relevant law was adopted back in 1993 and has not undergone significant amendments since then. The current vision of the Government is to assign these functions exclusively to law enforcement bodies, although earlier public policy documents envisaged the establishment of a separate independent body for this purpose.