Why the II Anti-Corruption Forum in Ukraine Matters: Trends, Challenges, and Legal Reforms
On June 26, 2025, Kyiv will host the II Anti-Corruption Forum of the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) — a key platform bringing together top legal minds, government watchdogs, corporate counsel, and international experts to reflect on the current state of anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine.
This is more than a legal event. In the context of full-scale war, institutional fatigue, and rising public expectations, the forum has become a space for candid, systemic, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations — about power, law, technology, and the boundaries between reform and rhetoric.
Anti-Corruption in 2025: Complexity, Not Headlines
If the post-2014 reforms focused on launching institutions — NABU, SAPO, HACC — the challenge today is different. It lies in how the system functions under pressure: in courts, in boardrooms, in ministries, and on the battlefield.
Key issues on the agenda:
- Are covert investigative actions that breach attorney-client privilege legally and ethically justifiable?
- Can cryptocurrency be treated as admissible evidence in corruption cases?
- How does the state handle military corruption without undermining national security?
- Are Ukraine’s tools for sanctions enforcement and whistleblower protection fit for purpose?
- What is the role of AI, OSINT, and HUMINT in corporate investigations?
This forum seeks not only to ask the right questions — but to anchor them in real legal practice, legislation, and international frameworks.
The Structure: Analysis, Casework, Tensions
The forum features four main sessions and several focused mini-sessions, each addressing critical tension points in Ukraine’s anti-corruption ecosystem.
Session 1. Trends and Turning Points
Moderated by Maksym Sheverdin (LCF Law Group), this session will examine:
- The legality of covert actions that compromise legal privilege;
- Cryptocurrency as a criminal asset, subject to seizure and forfeiture;
- The digitalization of proceedings via eCase — opportunities and procedural risks;
- The High Council of Justice’s new interpretation of Article 364 of the Criminal Code, affecting public sector leadership.
Speakers include representatives of the Supreme Court, Cyber Police, and legal analysts.
Mini-session: Military WC in Practice
Led by Marina Mkrticheva (LA Law Firm), this session will address:
- Legal classification of military-related corruption;
- Challenges of evidence collection by defense teams;
- Liability for command negligence and mismanagement in wartime.
Session 3. Compliance, Sanctions & Corporate Ethics
Moderated by Artem Krykun-Trush (Miller Law Firm), this panel will focus on:
- Prospects for criminal liability of legal entities for foreign corruption;
- The evolving legal framework for sanctions circumvention;
- Corporate compliance: from internal investigations to communication during reputational crises;
- AI-driven investigations (OSINT, HUMINT) and ethical boundaries;
- Whistleblower protection: progress or performance?
Confirmed speakers include:
- Polina Lysenko (Deputy Director, NABU)
- Victor Pavlushchyk (Head, NACP)
- Victoria Ohryza (Legal Director, PepsiCo Ukraine)
- Pavlo Verkhnianskyi (COSA)
- Oleksandr Todorchuk (Gres Todorchuk Agency)
Revelant
Session 4. Judicial Practice in Corruption Cases
This concluding session will explore:
- Plea bargains in high-profile corruption trials — justice or expediency?
- Bail and preventive measures: evolving court trends;
- International legal cooperation, including joint investigative teams;
- Extradition in NABU/SAPO cases: progress, challenges, gaps.
Speakers include representatives of Interpol, Cyber Police, and SAPO.
Why It Matters — Beyond the Program
This forum is not about political optics or professional protocol. It is a stress test of Ukraine’s legal resilience. It’s a rare space where attorneys, prosecutors, investigators, and compliance officers discuss what actually happens in practice — not just what laws say.
Each agenda item reflects a shift in how corruption is perpetrated, prosecuted, and perceived:
- When crypto wallets become bribe mechanisms — is the system ready?
- When military mismanagement costs lives — what’s the line between negligence and a crime?
- When businesses face sanctions risk — can compliance keep up?
- When AI enters the courtroom — who draws the red lines?
This isn’t theory. These are the new front lines of legal accountability.
Not Just a Forum — But a Mirror
The II Anti-Corruption Forum is a mirror — showing not only what Ukraine is, but what it is becoming.
- A state under siege — but committed to law.
- A legal community wrestling with dilemmas — not avoiding them.
- A business environment that increasingly understands: compliance is not a luxury. It’s survival.
This event is for those who shape law, apply it, or challenge it. And ultimately — for those who still believe that integrity is not just a value, but a practice.
About the Author
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