First Deputy Director of NABU Gizo Uglava saidthat the bureau is under threat of losing its independence, and detectives are under political pressure, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of the fight against corruption, UNN reports.
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Uglava appealed to the NABU Public Control Council to ensure control over the investigation of the case in which he is the main figure and to protect anti-corruption activists from possible external influence.
According to him, "people with their own unhealthy ambitions" decided to create discord within the team, destroy the NABU, and then "repair" it with the help of manual control under the auspices of "re-certification".
The chapter indicates that Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center NGO, and Anastasia Radina, head of the Verkhovna Rada's anti-corruption committee, want to take the NABU under their "manual control.
Recently, the AntAC, represented by Vitaliy Shabunin, in particular, thanks to the political lobby, namely the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy Anastasia Radina, has been trying to become a monopolist of public opinion in terms of fighting corruption. This monopolization leads to a distortion of the real situation and an increase in unhealthy influence on the anti-corruption infrastructure, which is impossible without an independent NABU. A weak and controlled NABU will benefit all interested parties, including corrupt organized groups
The first deputy director of the NABU notes that detectives are under enormous political pressure, which may indicate that the anti-corruption officers are weak and controlled.
It is worth noting that Gizo Uglava, after becoming a subject of the NABU investigation himself, admitted that there were serious problems with the investigation conducted by anti-corruption officials and noted that the bureau was focused on achieving "external goals" rather than establishing the truth.
This was pointed out even by international auditors.
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In late May, the NABU was caught up in a scandal - it became known about the alleged disclosure of data from the pre-trial investigation by representatives of the bureau. As a result, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos suspended his first deputy, Gizo Uglava, from his duties for the duration of the pre-trial investigation.
In connection with the scandal, members of the Verkhovna Rada Anti-Corruption Committee decided to summon NABU Director Semen Kryvonos to a meeting. However, he refused to come to the meeting. Therefore, the members of the anti-corruption committee held an offsite meeting at the NABU .
Despite the scandals, the budgetary appetites of the anti-corruption agencies are growing every year. Over the entire period of their existence, the NABU, SAPO, and HACC have spent approximately UAH 12-13 billion on their maintenance. All this is paid by taxpayers, for whom the next fee increases have already been prepared. In particular, the Government has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada draft laws on tax increases and amendments to the state budget for 2024. The Cabinet of Ministers proposes to the Parliament to increase the rate of the military tax to 5%, and for some transactions to 30%.
At the same time, there are still big questions about the effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies. Foreign experts in their audit report identified a number of problems in the NABU's activities. In particular, the auditors concluded that detectives need to communicate with psychologists and the ombudsman to report problems in the workplace.
While Ukrainians are being taxed, the NABU spends budget funds on repairing toilets, air conditioners and purchasing special purpose cars equipped with dual-zone climate control, heated mirrors and Apple Cards.