(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Anastasiia Renkas, Head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) Whistleblowing Development Department, told Ukrinform in a comment.

“Currently, the NACP has no information about lawsuits filed against whistleblowers. This is because the Law 'On Preventing Corruption' clearly states that a whistleblower does not bear responsibility if the information they provided is not confirmed,” she said.

However, Renkas noted that as the whistleblowing system develops in Ukraine, there may be risks that whistleblowers could face legal manipulation in the future - for example, lawsuits on defamation or protection of honor and dignity.

“The more the whistleblowing system grows, the stronger the pushback will be. There are concerns that lawsuits such as protection of honor and dignity or claims to refute allegedly false information may be used against whistleblowers. For instance, if whistleblowers report possible corruption but the information is not confirmed after verification. In that case, they could face a lawsuit demanding retraction of 'false' information,” she explained.

The department head emphasized that, in order to protect civil society actors and NGOs from such actions, the European Union adopted Directive 1069 in 2024, aimed at combating strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). She noted that Ukraine has not yet implemented this anti-SLAPP directive. Still, according to her, adopting it would also help protect whistleblowers - including investigative journalists and individuals who act as channels of information.

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Renkas added that a person with access to state secrets may report corruption through the Whistleblower Portal without disclosing classified information.

“A person who has access to state secrets may submit a report through the Whistleblower Portal, but they must not disclose any classified information. The fact of classification itself is a type of information. They may write that there is corruption among people working on procurement contracts and name them - that is not a state secret. Everyone knows we have procurement contracts conducted under certain conditions and through specific tenders. So, the classified information itself is not disclosed. Details of the alleged crime will then be examined by prosecutors or investigators who are authorized to work with classified materials within a criminal proceeding,” she said.

Renkas stressed that handling such information requires caution. She also noted that the main risk lies in the fact that Ukraine has not clearly regulated the procedure for declassification. Therefore, she said, it is necessary to define how a whistleblower should act if corruption is discovered in a field protected by state secrecy.

As reported, deputy head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention Serhii Hupiak stated at the fifth annual conference“Whistleblowers in Ukraine: Achievements and Challenges” that some individuals attempt to obtain whistleblower protection to avoid objective disciplinary responsibility at work.

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