The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), together with related anti-corruption activists, are effectively sabotaging the legally mandated audit, attempting to avoid an assessment of their own activities. This was stated by lawyer Oleh Shram, commenting on the reaction to the government's initiative for another inspection of the Bureau, UNN reports.
According to him, the information campaign about alleged "pressure" on NABU is an attempt to disrupt or maximally delay the audit, which the Cabinet of Ministers is obliged to conduct in accordance with the law.
"We are seeing classic sabotage: first, through loyal media and public organizations, and then directly from NABU itself, provocative and manipulative statements about 'pressure' are launched. Although the government is simply fulfilling a direct norm of the law on annual audits. But instead of openness, there are attempts to disrupt the process or at least maximally delay it to gain time and create an illusion of activity," Shram stated.
The lawyer emphasized that the reasons for such a reaction lie in the results of the previous inspection, which revealed the Bureau's low effectiveness.
"The last audit, which covered the period from March 2023 to November 2024, effectively recorded a failure. Despite all attempts to soften the wording, the assessment was only 1.4 out of 3 – a 'D minus'. And even after that, NABU received 26 recommendations, most of which were quite formal. But as of today, they have not been implemented. Moreover, the situation has only worsened," he stressed.
Shram separately noted that the sabotage of the audit is also an attempt by NABU's leadership to avoid any control.
"That is, we have a banal attempt by NABU, or rather its head and his team, to avoid responsibility for the results of their 'effective' activities. The level of their impudence is truly off the charts. Because they are uncontrolled, irresponsible, and unpunished," the lawyer stated.
According to Shram, the risk of a repeated negative assessment explains the current reaction of the Bureau and the anti-corruption community.
"The reason for the hysteria is obvious: a new audit could definitively confirm NABU's complete ineffectiveness and become a basis for personnel decisions. Therefore, we see a banal attempt to avoid responsibility for the results of their 'effective' activities. At the same time, the level of cynicism is off the charts – the audit is conducted by auditors appointed by international partners, but even this does not stop them from trying to block the inspection," he summarized.
He added that conducting an audit is a mandatory norm of the law, and no public campaigns can cancel this requirement.
As reported, in September 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed a Commission of foreign experts to conduct an external independent assessment of NABU. Only on November 18 did this commission meet – for the first time in more than 9 years of the Bureau's existence. The commission decided to limit itself only to the period from the appointment of the current director of the Bureau (from March 6, 2023) to November 18, 2024.
Even an audit for a short period revealed numerous shortcomings and violations. It was then proposed: NABU should be disbanded, as it is impossible to reform it.