Government Deliberately Undermines the Depoliticization of the State Bureau of Investigation

Despite Ukraine’s commitments to the European Union, the President and the Government have failed to introduce legislation required to depoliticize the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). By delaying reform until the current Director’s term expires in December 2026, the authorities ensure that the next SBI Director will be selected under rules that give political actors decisive influence over the outcome. As a result, political control over the Bureau could be preserved for another five years.

1. The Framework for the SBI Reform

The SBI is one of Ukraine’s most powerful law enforcement agencies. Its jurisdiction extends to members of parliament, senior politicians, high-ranking public officials, NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors.

An institution with such powers requires strong safeguards against political influence:

• European Commission Reports (2024–2025): Repeatedly called for the depoliticization of the SBI, including merit-based selection procedures with the meaningful involvement of international experts in appointing its leadership.
• Kos–Kachka Joint Statement (2025): Identified SBI reform as one of ten key commitments aimed at restoring confidence in Ukraine’s reform agenda following the July 2025 crisis around NABU and SAPO, including a review of the Bureau’s integrity mechanisms and the adoption of the necessary reforms. 

2. Delaying Reform to Preserve Political Control

In January 2026, President Zelenskyy publicly announced plans to reboot the SBI. However, after months of inaction, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko stated in May that the draft legislation would only be submitted by December 2026.

2.1. Why December 2026 Is the Last Viable Window

• Five-Year Mandate: Under Article 10 of the Law on the SBI, the Director is appointed for a five-year term. President Zelenskyy appointed the current Director, Oleksii Sukhachov, on 31 December 2021, meaning that his term expires on 31 December 2026.
• October 2026 Deadline: Under Article 11 of the Law on the SBI, the selection commission must be formed no later than two months before the Director’s term expires. As a result, the commission responsible for selecting the next SBI Director must be established by 31 October 2026 at the latest. 
• No Time for Delay: Legislation introducing a new appointment framework should therefore be adopted well before October 2026. Waiting until December 2026, as currently envisaged by the Government, would mean that the process of selecting the next Director would already be underway under the existing rules. 
• Five More Years of the Existing System: Once a new SBI Director is appointed, that person will receive a five-year mandate protected by law. As a result, even if reform legislation is adopted later, the next opportunity to select a Director under a depoliticized framework may not arise until 2031–2032.
• Difficult to Reverse: Although international experts do not have a decisive role under the current procedure, they nevertheless participate in the selection process. Once a competition has been completed and a Director appointed, revisiting the outcome would raise serious concerns regarding legal certainty, institutional independence and political interference, while also being difficult to justify to Ukraine’s international partners.

2.2. Current appointment procedure would preserve political influence over the Bureau until 2031-2032, given that current competitive procedure does not correspond to best practices of transparency and independence. 

The dominant role of government-appointed members led to a non-transparent and politically influenced selection process in 2021, which culminated in the appointment of Oleksii Sukhachov. Notably, four members of the selection commission were affiliated with Oleg Tatarov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, and Oleksiy Sukhachov. Not surprisingly, they voted for Sukhachov’s appointment as the Director. His appointment marked the final transformation of the SBI into a politically dependent law enforcement agency increasingly used to persecute opponents. 

Moreover, journalists complained about the closed decision-making process and the fact that the commission held its meeting in the Presidential Office building.

Conclusion

With the opening of the first EU accession negotiation cluster, the depoliticization of the SBI can no longer be postponed. To ensure that the next SBI Director is selected under a framework aligned with European standards, the necessary legislation should be adopted no later than the end of the third quarter of 2026, before the process of forming the selection commission begins under the existing rules.