Conflict of interest at NACP? The wife of the Agency's head, Pavlushchyk, works at the company of former NABU deputy director Uglava, who has whistleblower status
Kyiv • UNN
Tetiana Vodopianova, the wife of NACP head Viktor Pavlushchyk, has become the director of a company co-founded by former NABU deputy director Gizo Uglava. Journalists point to a possible conflict of interest, as Uglava has received whistleblower status at the NACP and cooperates with the Agency.
The head of the NACP, Viktor Pavlushchyk, may have a conflict of interest due to the new job of his wife, Tetiana Vodopianova, who became the director of the company "Uglava and Azons Intelligence," UNN reports.
According to open registries, the co-founder of the company is Gizo Uglava, who was dismissed from the position of First Deputy Director of NABU in 2024. According to media reports, the disciplinary proceedings against Gizo Uglava were related to a possible leak of classified information in the criminal proceedings against the head of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev. In particular, it concerns the possible transfer of information from investigative materials to third parties, including information related to covert investigative actions in this high-profile NABU case. Uglava himself publicly denied his involvement in the leak, but these circumstances became the basis for disciplinary review and his dismissal from the position of First Deputy Director of NABU, after which the conflict with the Bureau's leadership became public.
Uglava's partner in the new company is the law firm "Azons," registered to lawyer Mykhailo Tretiakov. Of particular note in the company's structure is that its director is Tetiana Vodopianova – a former NABU detective and Uglava's subordinate, who resigned from the Bureau in 2023. According to declarations, Vodopianova is the wife of Viktor Pavlushchyk, who headed the NACP in 2024.
It was during the period when Pavlushchyk became the head of the NACP that Gizo Uglava submitted an application to the agency regarding a possible conflict of interest in the actions of NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. The NACP accepted this application for consideration and granted Uglava the status of a whistleblower.
In this context, the appointment of the NACP head's wife as the head of a private company, co-founded by a person who is in a long-standing conflict with the NABU leadership and has received protection from the NACP, may appear to be a potential conflict of interest.
The editorial board of UNN analyzed the open vacancies and the description of the activities of "Uglava and Azons Intelligence" – we can assume that the company plans to work in the field of analytics, compliance, risk assessment, internal investigations, and consulting for businesses. This includes services for analyzing reputational risks and working with sensitive information – areas in which the experience of former anti-corruption agency employees is a key competitive advantage.
Viktor Pavlushchyk denies it – according to him, the cooperation between the NACP and Uglava does not confirm the existence of a conflict of interest. He emphasizes that he has no authority over the activities of the company where his wife works.
The company where she works will only operate in a b2b format, in the private sector. I am not entitled to forbid my wife from developing professionally in her field.
However, in this situation, at least an ethical question may arise. After all, it turns out that a former high-ranking NABU official, who is in open conflict with the current leadership of the Bureau and has received procedural protection from the NACP, is a co-founder of a company that pays a salary to the wife of the current head of the same agency.
Even if the law is not formally violated, such a configuration of connections can create the impression of a close intertwining of personal, professional, and institutional interests – especially when the NACP positions itself as an independent arbiter in matters of conflict of interest and integrity.