Interviews with NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) employees applying for the position of Director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) raised serious questions among the members of the selection committee. According to Informator, the level of professional training of the candidates and the facts of their biographies came as a surprise to international experts.
The head of the commission, international expert Laura Stefan, unexpectedly stopped discussing the integrity block, citing a lack of time. Time became especially scarce after information emerged about corruption scandals involving NABU candidates, concealment of luxury lifestyles, trade with occupied Donbas, obtaining Russian passports, "lost" cases, and dozens of other facts about the NABU candidates for the BES head position, which even stunned loyal international experts.
The level of training of NABU representatives raises serious concerns. It seems that some of them do not understand the functions of BES, while others try to avoid answering uncomfortable questions. Separate questions arose regarding the illegal wealth of the candidates, their disciplinary sanctions, Russian citizenship of relatives, and ties to pro-Russian politicians.
Most questions arose regarding Oleksandr Skomarov, the head of the NABU detective unit, who is considered one of the competition's favorites. Under pressure from the commission, he admitted that his father had obtained Russian citizenship and visited occupied Donbas. He asked to discuss the details in a closed session, which led to a part of the interview being held without broadcasting.
In addition, during the interview, information previously published by the media was confirmed: Skomarov's father received a Russian passport to sell a car and real estate under occupation laws. It also became known that during the full-scale invasion, Skomarov's family left Ukraine in a Range Rover that belonged to a deputy from the banned OPZZh party, and it was driven by an authorized representative of Chaba Peyter, who has been wanted by NABU since 2023.
One of the applicants, Andriy Vorvul, stated that the number of initiated legislative changes should be an indicator of BES's effectiveness.
Roman Yaromenok, a senior NABU detective who has repeatedly participated in high-level competitions, including for the Constitutional Court, could not clearly answer what position he wanted to hold. According to available information, his service history includes at least three disciplinary actions: for the loss of criminal materials in the prosecutor's office, for improper performance of duties, and for violations within NABU in 2024. Yaromenok disclosed the reason for the latter in a closed session.
The commission was also concerned about an incident where a detective used a firearm on a car containing a person whom NABU was searching without a court order. According to the candidate, the internal investigation found him innocent. Regarding management experience, it was found that in the prosecutor's office, he managed only 11 employees, and he failed to obtain a management position in NABU.
Another candidate, Oleksandr Tsyvinsky, avoided open answers to key questions. In particular, these concern disciplinary proceedings, his 19-year-old son's departure abroad, the candidate's own permits for foreign trips, and a potential conflict of interest due to contracts his wife, a polygraph examiner, has with NABU. Questions about possible plagiarism in the candidate's dissertation also remained unanswered.
As is known, today marks the completion of interviews with 16 candidates for the position of Director of the Bureau of Economic Security.
Earlier it was reported that the competition for the selection of the Director of the Bureau of Economic Security was interrupted due to the emergence of scandalous information about the connection of several candidates with the Russian Federation.