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15 March, 2019
NAKO 11 Quarterly: Questionnaire Results Presented to the Committee
13-15 March 2019 – NAKO’s 11th Quarterly Meetings took place in Kyiv. This time the Quarterly was joined by Transparency International Defence and Security Program: TI DS Director Steve Francis and TI DS Program Manager - Europe Karolina MacLachlan.

Together, they discussed the pending release of NAKOs upcoming research products, the corruption scandal surrounding the state owned enterprise Ukroboronprom and the results of the Presidential Questionnaire. The results were presented livestream and NAKO representatives, presidential candidates and their representatives participated in a NAKO-exclusive talk show on the topic.

NAKO delivered the questionnaire to forty-four candidates and prepared a website where their answers would be posted. Sixteen candidates answered NAKOs questions. One promised but did not deliver, and, 27 (including the incumbent President) did not respond at all. Alarmingly, a low level of understanding of defence corruption matters is deducible by the fact that a large number of those who did respond, produced generic, off-topic and/or ambiguous statements. In view of the investigation of defence corruption by Bigus.info, the Committee maintains its assertion that Ukroboronprom needs to implement OECD standards for corporate governance, and that the Supervisory Board has to be truly independent; particularly from the President. NAKO will also support the forensic audit of Ukroboronprom.

The Committee also confirmed the publication of the two research papers entitled, “Corruption Schemes within Ukraine’s Defence Real Estate Sector” and “Reforming the System of the State Defence Order”. Public presentations of these studies are now being planned for the coming months.

A number of meetings took place within the framework of the Committee’s quarterly assembly. NAKO members met with the newly appointed Deputy Secretary to the National Defence and Security Council, Sergiy Kryvonos, and members of his team. All of the participants conceded to the importance of cooperation with the aim of lowering the levels of defence-corruption.

NAKO representatives also visited the British and Danish Embassy, Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the newly appointed Head of EUACI Eka Tkeshelashvili. In parallel, the meeting with the Head of Ukroboronprom’s Supervisory Board Mykhailo Zgurovsky and Deputy President Sergiy Omelchenko took place.