The announcement came just two days after the agencies’ independence was restored following demonstrations described as the largest since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
The reinstating of the independence of NABU and SAPO by the Ukrainian parliament was most probably also influenced by European warnings that EU financial support for Kyiv might be suspended.
In a joint statement published by the two agencies on social media they said they had caught a sitting MP, two local officials and an unspecified number of national guard personnel taking bribes. None of them were identified in the statement.
“The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,” the agencies said, adding that the offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30% of a contract’s cost. Four people had been arrested.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shared on Telegram that he had met the heads of NABU and SAPO on Saturday, saying
I thanked the heads of the anti-corruption agencies for their work – for such exposures. And I want to thank them for their teamwork. NABU and SAPO have every opportunity to operate effectively. We are counting on fair verdicts.
