The competition commission for selecting the head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine has become embroiled in a scandal. Its members signed a memorandum of cooperation with the NABU, even though representatives of the Bureau themselves are candidates for this position. In this regard, the Bureau was accused of manipulation and attempts to gain control over government bodies. This was written by political expert Oleh Posternak, as reported by UNN.
"The commission, which decides the fate of the future head of customs, consists of 6 people. Three of them are foreigners. Three are Ukrainians. Under the guise of 'objectivity,' this commission signed a memorandum with the NABU on December 17 to thoroughly check candidates for integrity. This was written by a member of the commission, the head of the Council of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, Dmytro Oliynyk. Thus, the commission of three of our people, three foreigners, and a bunch of NABU officials expands into a body where our people do not play a special role, and NABU officials, as they say, are not subordinate to Ukraine anyway. Now this entire legion is undertaking to check candidates for the position of head of customs," he wrote.
Among the candidates, the expert noted, are current NABU employees.
"Among the candidates, three NABU officials are modestly listed: Mykhailo Burtovyi, Orest Mandziy, and Ruslan Damentsov. That is, the Bureau will check everyone, and then they will choose between their own and outsiders whom to appoint. It is not difficult to guess who will pass this test: some outsider or their own?" the expert noted.
According to him, competitive procedures create a mechanism for external influence on key state institutions.
"NABU showed the Russians how to influence Ukrainian state bodies without a single shot. Foreign guys are jointly raiding entire government bodies to manage them from abroad. Is this already treason or still democracy? Because it looks very much like an attempt to concentrate power in one structure, which is influenced from outside the country," the expert noted.
He also recalled previous personnel decisions in state companies, which, according to him, indicate the negative consequences of such practices.
"We have already seen how NABU protégé Mykhailo Rykovtsev headed the economic security department of Ukrzaliznytsia. Almost 80 million, according to open data, in losses were recorded only on purchases of diesel fuel, coal, and wagons last summer," Posternak wrote.
Separately, Posternak mentioned the situation with NABU senior detective Taras Likunov.
"NABU senior detective Taras Likunov, who investigated corruption crimes at 'Ukrzaliznytsia,' and then found himself in the chair of the deputy director for corporate security of 'UZ,'" the expert noted.
He emphasized that NABU "decided not to notice" the restrictions provided for in Article 26 of the Law "On Preventing Corruption."
"It directly prohibits working in companies that the official controlled or supervised for one year after dismissal. And how can you notice it when Likunov's sister, Olena Shcherban, is a member of the 'Anti-Corruption Action Center.' A normal corrupt vertical under the guise of anti-corruption," he said.
Posternak emphasized that the fight against corruption remains critically important for Ukraine, but warned against substituting its content.
"Ukraine, undoubtedly, needs a quality fight against corruption. But it's somehow not comme il faut when anti-corruption activists, with the money of Ukrainians, help concentrate power in a warring country," he concluded.