NABU, frightened by its curtailed powers, rushed to quickly complete investigations // collage: glavcom.ua
NABU detectives
The Anti-Corruption Bureau has set a record in the last two days: it has completed the investigation of four high-profile cases, writes Vitaly Taranenko,Glavcom"NABU detectives suddenly started working normally!
Nearing midnight on July 22, two influential members of the country's security forces, SBU head Vasyl Malyuk and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, urgently convened a meeting with journalists. The purpose of the meeting was to extinguish the "fire" that had flared up after the impressive parliamentary blitzkrieg, which limited the independence of anti-corruption bodies and strengthened the powers of the Prosecutor General.
July 22, Verkhovna Rada supported the bill On amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code regarding the specifics of pre-trial investigations of criminal offenses related to disappearances under special circumstances during martial law. The MPs incorporated a number of amendments from the prosecutor's office into this document, while also strengthening the Prosecutor General's position.
According to the changesThe Prosecutor General (or the person acting in his or her capacity) has been granted full access to materials, documents, and other information from the pre-trial investigation related to high-profile corruption. The Prosecutor General may also request pre-trial investigation materials from the head of the investigative body. The latter must comply without appeal. The Prosecutor General may then, at his or her discretion, replace the head of the pre-trial investigation body.
Furthermore, the Council opened another option for the Prosecutor General: with his blessing, the Bureau of Economic Security will investigate criminal offenses assigned to other pre-trial investigation bodies. While the bill doesn't explicitly state this, these could also include criminal cases investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). Similarly, the Prosecutor General will be able to withdraw cases from the NABU and transfer them to another pre-trial investigation body.
The Prosecutor General has also strengthened his authority over the dismissal of criminal cases. After the amendments come into force, prosecutors or participants in criminal proceedings have the right to petition the Prosecutor General to dismiss cases in which investigations were ongoing, including those against the former president, prime minister, members of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner, the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and his deputies, the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation and deputy prosecutors general, and judges of the Constitutional Court.
Based on the results of the review of the petition, the Prosecutor General (the person acting in his/her capacity) issues a ruling to close the criminal proceedings against the person or refuses to satisfy the petition.
On July 23, the listed changes came into force after they were published parliamentary publication "Voice of Ukraine".
“Some well-known journalists, before I even took office, reported that the new Prosecutor General was being appointed to take over the Chernyshev case. (already the former Deputy Prime Minister - "Glavcom"). I promise you straight to your face that after these (legislative - "Glavkom") changesbusiness Chernysheva I won't take it away; it will continue to be investigated, just as NABU did. I'll see how they finish it, and then I'll go to the SAP prosecutors.t (to the court - Glavkom) "support the state prosecution", - swore in front of the media Late in the evening, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
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Separately, the new head of the Prosecutor General's Office expressed interest in cases investigated by NABU for years. One of these is the theft of several billion hryvnias from PrivatBank during the time it was owned by the arrested oligarch. Igor Kolomoisky.
"In such cases, I will ask questions and, perhaps, create a joint investigative team of other employees," Kravchenko warned.
How NABU detectives worked
And the very next day, July 23, as if by magic, on the NABU website a message has appeared: case Privatbank completed, the suspects have access to pre-trial investigation materials.
And this isn't the only miracle, or rather criminal case, that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau hastily finalized after a "bolt from the sky." On July 22-23—when the elected officials curtailed the powers of NABU and SAP, the president signed the law, and then these changes came into force—the anti-corruption agency reported the completion of four cases at once!
NABU detectives
On July 22-23, the anti-corruption agency reported the completion of four criminal proceedings at once // screenshot from the NABU website
NABU detectives
For comparison, according to the public organization Anti-Corruption Action Center (which prepares monthly anti-corruption digests), in June NABU and SAP completed the investigation of two criminal cases, May - one; April - five, March - three, February - four. And, for example, in January This year there have been no reports at all from anti-corruption agencies on the number of cases brought to completion.
“This type of termination of cases can be due to several reasons: the organic end of collecting all the evidence or still fears that the case could be lost due to a new law, — Pavlo Demchuk, senior legal adviser to Transparency International Ukraine, discusses this in a conversation with Glavkom. "Let me remind you that the law adopted on July 22 allows the Prosecutor General to issue instructions to the heads of detective units, and if they fail to comply, to withdraw the case from NABU due to the ineffectiveness of the investigation."
The lawyer noted that such instructions from the Prosecutor General may only formally appear legal, but have nothing to do with an effective investigation. For example, they could divert the investigation from the right direction and shield key individuals from suspicion and criminal prosecution.
"Glavkom" analyzed all four cases that NABU brought to light after threatening statement Prosecutor General on the audit of "suspended" anti-corruption investigations.
The Case of the Two Fat "K"s
NABU detectives have been unraveling the PrivatBank case since at least 2021. And the former owner of this largest financial institution Igor Kolomoisky They were creeping up, slowly. The first to become suspicious were the former top management of PrivatBank: the chairman of the board, his first deputy, the head of one of the bank's divisions, and the head of the interbank operations department.
In early September 2023, security forces conducted searches at the home of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who had settled in western Ukraine. He was accused of masterminding a criminal plan to embezzle over 9 billion hryvnias from PrivatBank. The events under investigation took place between January and March 2015, when Igor Kolomoisky still owned the bank and headed the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration.
From September 2023 to this day, the oligarch is guarded in the SBU pretrial detention center. Meanwhile, the head of the special service, Vasily Malyuk baptized Kolomoisky is a "NABU fan." "Igor Valerievich is a NABU fan here. Well, I lived with him for a while, because he's in my jail. So I guess I know.", the head of the SBU assured.
On according to the SBU press serviceKolomoisky hoped that the winner of the competition for the position of Director of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) from among NABU employees would facilitate the closure of the criminal case against him. However, this did not happen.
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The oligarch and five other suspects are currently reviewing the pre-trial investigation materials. The prosecutor's office is then expected to submit the indictment to court.
By the way, NABU called The PrivatBank case is "one of the largest in the history of anti-corruption agencies."
"Some criminal proceedings, such as that against Kolomoisky, were suspended for a long time due to inquiries from other countries and international warrants. And here, during the trial, we'll be able to determine whether NABU received all the answers regarding international legal assistance. Of course, if such answers weren't received, there could be some harm to the investigation or, for example, the potential seizure or confiscation of all assets. But we trust that the SAPO prosecutors who decided on the sufficiency of evidence in these cases considered all the potential risks in defending their position in court.", said Pavel Demchuk, senior legal advisor at TI Ukraine.
Another top suspect starting with the letter "K" is from the current government. He is the head of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. Pavel KirilenkoOn July 23, NABU and SAP completed the investigation His affairs: the official is suspected of failing to declare his assets, and his wife, Alla, is accused of being an accomplice who helped him illegally enrich himself. According to investigators, the head of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine concealed: six apartments in Kyiv and Uzhgorod; a residential building near Kyiv with an area of over 220 square meters and two plots of land; two garages; six parking spaces; three non-residential premises with a total area of over 190 square meters; and a BMW X3.
In addition, against Kirilenko was started another criminal case involving illegal enrichment in the amount of 72 million hryvnias. This case is currently pending regards High Anti-Corruption Court.
"Daddy During the War." Corruption in the Odessa Court
On July 22, the Anti-Corruption Bureau put an end to it In the investigation of a criminal group operating in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City and District Court of the Odessa Region. The scheme involved mass-producing court decisions claiming that fathers were raising their children alone, under trumped-up circumstances. This allowed men to avoid military conscription and leave the country under the pretext of caring for their children. The organizers imposed a $3,5 "fee"—the exact cost of travel abroad, which was formalized by court orders. The investigation counted 1040 such orders.
To maintain secrecy, the perpetrators set up a court "back office" in a law firm and even advertised their "services" on social media.
How to media reportedTwo former judicial assistants, a deputy head of the court staff, a court consultant, and a lawyer's assistant entered into a plea agreement. The Anti-Corruption Court approved the plea agreement on July 18.
In early December 2024, the key figure, Chairman of the Belgorod-Dnistrovsky City and District Court, Valentin Zaveryukha, with obvious calculations, mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since already in March 2025 the High Council of Justice agreed Judge Serhiy Savitsky of the Belgorod-Dnistrovsky City and District Court appealed against his detention. The corresponding motion was filed by Oleksandr Klimenko, head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
NABU detectives: Bribe-taker from the special services
The NABU's list of quickly compiled cases also included a story about the extortion of a bribe by the head of a sector of the SBU's Department for the Protection of National Statehood, acting in alliance with two accomplices. On July 22, the investigation officially completed.
According to investigators, an SBU official and his accomplices demanded $300 from individuals who were illegally transporting conscripts out of the country. The law enforcement officer promised to destroy some of the case materials he was working on against the individual and to disclose already established facts. If the individual refused, he threatened to prosecute them under more severe criminal charges.
Interestingly, the "SBU officer's" case was initially handled by the State Bureau of Investigation. Only later did it migrate to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
***
Very eventful events of the last two days (cardboard Maidans» in Kyiv and regional centers, harsh statements (foreign parliamentarians and the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs about the threat of losing the independence of anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine) forced the Ukrainian authorities to back down. On the evening of July 23, the president Vladimir Zelensky in the traditional address to Ukrainians He promised to submit a bill to the Council that would preserve the independence of anti-corruption institutions. Meanwhile, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, now "all-powerful" thanks to the Council, can now safely carry out the promised review of NABU cases.
"Overall, the risks for NABU cases have become significantly greater than they were before July 22, 2025. After all, while previously they mostly concerned heavy rainfall during wiretaps (because technically, the SBU organizes them), expert examinations, or closures under the 'Lozovoy Amendments,' now they could involve the transfer of cases 'preferred' by the authorities to other pre-trial investigation agencies.", concludes Pavel Demchuk from TI Ukraine and lists the large-scale Operation Cleaner Space, where former deputy Denis Komarnitsky, Klitschko's deputy, was exposed Petro Olenych and Kyiv City Council deputies; the "Golden Eggs" scheme—NABU exposed it businesswoman Tatyana Glinyanu; former head of the Ministry of Defense's Department for Clothing Supplies Armed Forces of Ukraine of Bohdan Khmelnytsky; embezzlement of funds from Kharkivoblenergo and abuses in system development "Dzvin".
Skelet.Org
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They're trying to get this article removed by Google's greed. That's a shame.