Another scandal in the NABU: detectives accused of low efficiency in fighting corruption in the defense sector

Kateryna Datsenko, a military wife and representative of the NABU Public Control Council (PCC) in the personnel commission, made a loud statement about the low efficiency of detectives in investigating corruption in the defense sector. According to her, a significant increase in the number of cases of corruption in the defense sector was expected with the outbreak of a full-scale war. However, as of today, only 48 criminal proceedings are underway, in which only 7 people have been notified of suspicion, UNN reports.

She points out that this situation is causing outrage among the public, as journalists regularly publish investigations that point to numerous cases of corruption in the defense sector. "Corruption in the defense sector kills. Unfortunately, literally," Datsenko emphasizes, pointing out the importance of this issue for the country's security and the protection of the military at the front.

During the discussion of candidates for senior positions in the First Main Unit of the NABU, which investigates corruption in the defense sector, Datsenko expressed dissatisfaction with the answers of one of the candidates, who has already held this position since 2022. The criticism concerned his position on the lack of access to necessary data during the war, which, according to Datsenko, cannot be an excuse for the lack of investigations.

Despite the criticism, the NABU personnel commission recommended this candidate for the position, albeit with a probationary period until May 2025.

Context

This situation emphasizes the urgent need for radical reform decisions in the NABU, especially in the units responsible for investigating critical areas for the country. The public has repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that the NABU wastes public resources and time on cases that are not critical and have questionable judicial prospects.

The same point was emphasized by international experts who evaluated the work of detectives.

A good example is case against former Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan. Almost three years were spent investigating this case, in which the HACC eventually delivered an acquittal. By the way, neither the NABU detectives nor the SAPO prosecutors have ever publicly apologized to Omelian or been punished for illegally bringing him to justice.

A similar story may now be repeated with former Minister Mykola Solsky, who  was publicly accused by NABU and SAPO in May of misappropriating land. The point is not that Solsky himself took possession of the land, but that he helped ATO soldiers to register land plots that, according to the detectives, should have gone to other people, in particular, to be put up for auctions by the State Property Fund for the sale of land.

This story is eight years old, and the reasonable timeframe for the investigation has long since expired, but detectives decided to announce suspicions this year. The nearest plans include interrogation of almost 1,500 ATO soldiers.

At the same time, NABU has recently been involved in internal disputes with its former first deputy, Gizo Uglava, accusing him of violations in the performance of his direct duties. Uglava, in turn, claimed that NABU was a politically biased body under the influence of outsiders. Read more about the scandal here.

In view of the above, the public emphasizes the need for radical changes in the approaches to NABU investigations, especially in critical areas for the country, as political cases, at least for now, may give way to the necessary investigations where Ukrainians' lives depend on them.