Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the creation of a Bureau of Economic Security, an analytical body aimed at overseeing financial transactions, in an effort to combat economic and financial crime, a government spokesman said.

According to the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Ukraine ranked 117th out of 180 countries in 2020, ranking the second lowest in Europe, after Russia.

The new bureau will analyse the beneficiaries of financial transactions and determine if there is a violation of the law in the circulation of funds of certain business or government structures. The agency’s mandate does not envisage law enforcement actions against violators.

The country’s security service (SBU) will no longer be empowered to investigate crimes related to corruption and organised crime. The SBU will “focus on performing tasks that are related to the security of the state,” the spokesman said.