PARIS, 08 Oct. - (ANA) - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Ukraine have advanced anti-corruption reforms over the past two years. However, progress remains uneven and vulnerable to reversal without sustained political commitment. The reports, issued under the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan (IAP), a sub-regional peer review programme of the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN), highlight notable reforms:

 

Armenia strengthened conflict-of-interest rules and asset declaration verification, expanded beneficial ownership reporting, reduced the share of single-source procurement, introduced liability of legal persons and developed a robust practice of civil forfeiture of illicit assets.

 

Azerbaijan took steps to improve anti-corruption compliance programmes in state-owned enterprises, adopted a new public procurement law, improved the national e-procurement portal, and revised its anti-corruption strategy monitoring mechanism.

 

Moldova passed a new whistleblower protection law, enhanced competition in public procurement, increased detection of asset and interest disclosure violations, appointed a new Prosecutor General through a competitive process and finalised judicial vetting and appointments until retirement age.

 

Ukraine, despite Russia’s full-scale invasion, introduced modern, transparent anti-corruption strategy monitoring, reopened its comprehensive and digitised asset declarations system, strengthened whistleblower protection, secured the independence of the Specialised Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office and further strengthened the enforcement of high-level corruption offences. In February 2025 Ukraine applied to accede to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and to join the OECD Working Group on Bribery after undertaking important legal reforms.

 

Despite these advances, serious challenges remain across the four countries. Specialised anti-corruption bodies face independence constraints and asset recovery mechanisms are limited. Judicial and prosecutorial reforms are also incomplete, and safeguards for their independence should be further strengthened. Whistleblower protection, in practice, remains weak or absent.

 

The reports also highlight risks for backsliding on anti-corruption reforms. In Ukraine, persistent threats to the independence of anti-corruption bodies were recently exemplified in overnight legislative amendments that were swiftly repealed after strong domestic and international pushback. 

 

In Armenia, the resignations of the Chair of the Anti-Corruption Committee and the Head of the Supreme Judicial Council raised concerns about institutional independence. In Moldova, the proposed structural overhaul of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office was followed by the resignation of its head. In Azerbaijan, the appointment of the Chairman of the Supreme Court as head of the Judicial Legal Council marked a setback, while enforcement of active bribery cases has stalled.

 

European integration prospects and an active civil society continue to be major drivers of anti-corruption efforts, bringing essential reforms to the fore. But actions against anti-corruption activists and investigative journalists remain a cause for concern. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Ukraine are encouraged to uphold their anti-corruption commitments, promote a free civic space and foster dialogue and partnerships with civil society and the private sector to advance efforts to combat corruption.

 

The OECD ACN will continue to monitor developments under the IAP and support these countries to ensure that recent reforms deliver lasting change.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/08 October 2025  - - -