Anti-corruption activist Vitaliy Shabunin, while on military service, provided consultations to charitable foundations for which he received hundreds of thousands of hryvnias per month. He reported this at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Temporary Special Commission investigating possible violations of legislation in the defense sphere, anti-corruption legislation, and the observance of rights and freedoms during martial law, UNN reports.
Shabunin received the money as an individual entrepreneur (FOP).
"Consultations. These are quite large sums. 100-200 thousand hryvnias per month," Shabunin stated.
Notably, Shabunin also received funds to his FOP account from the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), where he is a co-leader and co-founder.
"Yes," he replied when asked if he received funds from AntAC to his FOP account.
Shabunin also consulted charitable foundations, specifically "100% Life" (a foundation working with people living with HIV). Shabunin did not specify exactly what kind of consultations he provided to them. At the same time, it should be added that the charitable organization "100% Life" is headed by Dmytro Sherembey, who is also a board member of AntAC.
Furthermore, during the meeting, he revealed details regarding the funding of AntAC.
"In fact, 40% comes from the USA through various foundations, including USAID. About another 40% is from European countries. This is more or less the case if we take the entire period of the organization's operation," Shabunin reported.
Also, according to him, AntAC received funds from private structures – in particular from the Soros Foundation – apparently referring to the International Renaissance Foundation. At the same time, according to him, AntAC currently receives almost no funding, or none at all, from the USA. As the activist clarified, it became difficult to work with them after Donald Trump took office as president.
Reminder
As previously reported, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) served a notice of suspicion to the head of AntAC, Vitaliy Shabunin, and his former commander, Viktor Yushko. Shabunin is accused of fraud and evasion of mobilization, while Yushko is accused of abuse of power. Subsequently, Shabunin was discharged from the military due to poor eyesight.
The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) reported that Vitaliy Shabunin, a serviceman seconded to the institution in 2022–2023, did not even enter the NACP premises and did not have a workspace there. Moreover, the agency has no positions to be filled by military personnel, which did not prevent Shabunin from receiving military pay.
The criminal proceedings against Shabunin also include materials regarding the evasion of military service by board member Sherembey, who, along with Shabunin, was fictitiously listed in the 207th separate Territorial Defense battalion.
Regarding funding, the Anti-Corruption Action Center was previously caught in large-scale manipulations with grant funds. This was stated by the public initiative Grant Watch Ukraine "Stop-Parasite," which published relevant documents. In total, the NGO "Anti-Corruption Action Center" has received over $8 million in donor funds since 2013.