Scandals, failures, and VIP property: why internationals are demanding that NABU be closed
14 May 20:49
OPINION
Ukraine spends 2.2 times more money on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) than corrupt officials brought to justice by the agency’s detectives return. This conclusion of international experts was published on his Facebook page by political strategist Oleh Posternak, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to him, the NABU is an institutional mistake that cannot be corrected by any “cosmetic” reforms.
After 10 years of existence and hundreds of millions of euros of international aid, Ukraine has finally received the first external audit of NABU. What was supposed to be an event that all the “progressive media” would write about, in fact, went unnoticed. It seems that the NABU leadership does not mind this at all, because the report was very unpleasant – and this is assuming that the international commission was loyal to Ukrainian anti-corruption structures. One can only imagine what the outcome would have been if the commission had real teeth and no desire to smooth over the Bureau’s constant failures,” Posternak wrote.
The international audit of the NABU ended in the expected scandal – critical violations were found in the Bureau, and its existence was recognized as an institutional mistake. The NABU leadership even tried to hide the audit results, but failed.
What the international commission drew attention to
- The NABU spent UAH 1.9 billion and caught corrupt officials for only UAH 0.8 billion.
- In 2023, the NABU filed only one suspicion in the defense sector, and in 2024 – none.
- The NABU is constantly “leaking” information to the suspects for money. Oleh Posternak emphasizes that the leakage of information by the leadership and former detective Andriy Denysiuk is only a fragment of a larger problem. Only in August 2024, the report notes, did the NABU director approve recommendations to prevent the risk of information leakage or disclosure. Firstly, it was almost 10 years late, and secondly, they do not work – neither as a preventive measure nor as an aid to the investigation.
- Not a single successful investigation has been conducted based on the results of the “leaks.” According to the political strategist, this once again confirms that the NABU is not a state anti-corruption body, but a caste of untouchables who cover for each other.
- The NABU staff is exorbitantly bloated and increases by 100 people every year. These people with salaries of more than 100 thousand hryvnias are constantly short of hands for “big” investigations. At the same time, detectives and the Bureau’s management complained to the commission that they were overloaded with “small” corruption cases, and therefore there were not enough hands to handle “big” ones.
According to Posternak, even this list of problems, adjusted for the commission’s loyalty, is impressive. The report should also include the scandals that have shaken the NABU in recent months:
- detective Timur Arshavin (a holder of state secrets) fled to Romania;
- a representative of the Bureau was caught manufacturing and selling drugs;
- detective Mykhailo Romaniuk purchased VIP cars and luxury real estate, but registered everything to his relatives. In addition, his brother was caught on a bribe, but thanks to the detective’s cover, the court has not been able to make a decision in his case for 8 years;
- concealment of millions in cryptocurrency by detectives;
- bureau detectives forcing witnesses to have sex with them.
These are just the things that immediately came to mind. In fact, there is much more to it than that. After the diagnosis, voiced even by loyal internationals and supported by the Ukrainian media, it is impossible to continue to pretend that NABU needs only “reforms.” The NABU is an institutional failure that cannot be fixed by any cosmetic reforms. The Bureau should be disbanded, not reformed,” the political strategist is convinced.
Oleh Posternak summarized that it is necessary to finally create an effective, accountable, independent mechanism for investigating corruption – with real internal control, powers and responsibilities. And with a regular annual external audit.
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