The bill concerns the civil forfeiture mechanism for unjustified assets linked to public officials. Under this mechanism, assets may be recovered as state revenue if a court establishes that their value significantly exceeds the official’s lawful income. Such cases are heard in civil proceedings, meaning that a conviction for a specific corruption offence is not required for the assets to be forfeited.
At present, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention identifies signs of unjustified assets through full verification of asset declarations and lifestyle monitoring of public officials. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation are also authorised to identify unjustified assets and collect evidence that they are unjustified. Claims seeking to have assets recognised as unjustified and recovered as state revenue are filed by prosecutors and heard by the High Anti-Corruption Court.
According to the bill’s sponsors, the police currently investigate a significant number of corruption offences but do not have independent powers to identify unjustified assets or collect evidence for their recovery through civil proceedings. Granting such powers is expected to facilitate wider use of the mechanism, particularly in relation to Category B and C civil servants, local government officials and members of local councils.
The bill, registered on 19 May 2026, proposes granting the National Police the relevant powers. The police would be able to independently identify unjustified assets and collect evidence that they are unjustified outside criminal proceedings. The collected materials would be forwarded to prosecutors to decide whether to file the relevant claim.
In particular, the police would be authorised to:
- trace funds and other property showing signs of being unjustified and take steps to have such assets frozen;
- obtain information free of charge from state registers, databases and automated information systems, including restricted-access information;
- request the necessary information from state authorities, local government bodies and legal entities;
- engage specialists and experts to determine the value of the assets under examination.
The examination could also extend to assets belonging to other individuals or legal entities if there are grounds to believe that they were acquired at the direction of a public official or are effectively controlled by the official. If these circumstances are established, such assets could also be recovered as state revenue.
Requests for information could be signed by the Head of the National Police, a deputy head, or the heads of interregional and territorial police bodies. The requested information would have to be provided within three days. Where this is impossible, the recipient would be required to explain the reasons for the delay within ten days.
The bill also proposes extending the administrative liability provided for in Article 185-13 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences to cases of non-compliance with police requests. A fine could be imposed for failure to provide information, submission of inaccurate information, failure to meet the prescribed deadlines, or informing third parties that data are being collected. The fine would range from 250 to 400 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.
At the same time, the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada has raised concerns regarding the bill. In particular, experts have pointed to the broad scope of the police’s proposed access to property and other data, the lack of clear criteria for determining whether property shows “signs of being unjustified”, and the need for additional safeguards against abuse.