External Influence and Bias: What Uglava Had to Say About NABU Before His Dismissal

Over the past few months, former NABU First Deputy Director Gizo Uglava has made a number of high-profile statements that have exposed potential problems in the management and investigation processes of anti-corruption detectives. In particular, he emphasized the lack of transparency, external influence and the use of the bureau to achieve private interests, which generally undermines the authority of the NABU as an independent anti-corruption body. UNN collected the main statements during this time.

As a reminder, the conflict between First Deputy Director Gizo Uglava and the NABU itself began in May, when the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) conducted searches of several NABU employees suspected of abuse of office and information leaks.

The conflict escalated when Uglava was suspended from the position of NABU Deputy Director in connection with the investigation of these leaks, as well as disciplinary actions against him. Since then, Uglava has repeatedly made public statements about pressure and misconduct by the NABU leadership.

Gizo Uglava accused the NABU leadership, in particular Director Semen Kryvonos, of pressuring him to resign.

At the moment, my immediate supervisor, the Director of the NABU, has a real conflict of interest due to: personal pressure on me to resign; actions that undermine the rule of law to achieve private interests; making decisions not based on the law, but on the basis of pressure

He noted that he was subjected to personal pressure to undermine his reputation through investigations related to leaks in NABU cases.

Simultaneously with the start of the pre-trial investigation and two internal investigations aimed at discrediting me as an official and the NABU as a whole, a media campaign was launched to create a negative public opinion about my activities and reputation

Uglava also hinted that decisions at the NABU are made under the influence of external factors rather than on the basis of the law. Among the individuals and institutions that he believes exerted this pressure were activists of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC) and the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, who, as Uglava noted, used to work at the AntAC.

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 stakeholders, including corrupt organized groups

Uglava has repeatedly emphasized that the actions against him indicate serious problems in the NABU investigation process, which is focused on achieving external goals rather than establishing the truth.

He also noted that the NABU faced problems that needed to be corrected, and that he would try to reinstate his position through the court, using all possible resources to do so, including bringing other public officials to his side. In particular, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), where he recently filed a complaint against the NABU director and received official whistleblower status.

In this way, Uglava apparently hopes to use the support of the NACP leadership to strengthen his position in the court proceedings and influence public opinion in his favor by presenting himself as a real whistleblower rather than as a defendant in corruption charges. This move indicates that Uglava is trying to mobilize his connections in the government to influence the outcome of investigations and trials against him.

Whatever the case, the actions of both parties indicate that the NABU's investigations potentially have problems with transparency, neutrality, and objectivity.

The situation with Uglava may have a significant impact on the upcoming international audit of NABU, which is expected to soon assess the efficiency and transparency of the bureau's work. Uhla's allegations of pressure, corruption schemes, and possible manipulation within NABU may increase the attention of auditors to the bureau's internal problems and encourage them to scrutinize internal procedures, control systems, and reporting.

Information about the conflict and internal disputes may negatively affect the image of the NABU internationally, calling into question its ability to independently investigate and fight corruption while spending a significant amount of money on the anti-corruption system. The auditors could focus on verifying the Head's statements regarding external pressure and assessing the extent to which the bureau adheres to the principles of independence and objectivity in its activities.

In addition, the audit report may contain recommendations for improving internal governance and introducing additional mechanisms to protect against pressure on employees, especially those involved in investigating corruption cases. This could lead to further reforms at the NABU aimed at strengthening its independence and increasing the credibility of its work both in Ukraine and internationally.

Context

Earlier, UNN mentioned that, according to auditors, the NABU staff is in a depressed state, needs psychologists and most of the employees plan to resign in the near future.

At the same time, the NABU does not have the trust of Ukrainians (54.4% of survey respondents), and the economic effect of their activities is zero. After all, over the years, tens of billions of hryvnias have been spent on NABU, SAPO, NAPC, and HACC from the budget .

The reason for the lack of trust in anti-corruption activists may be loud accusations of top officials by the NABU, which eventually result in acquittals. An example is the case of former Minister Volodymyr Omelyan. He was accused of budget losses due to the reduction of port fees that he introduced. But in court, all the arguments of SAPO detectives and prosecutors were shattered as worthless. By the way, neither the NABU detectives nor the SAPO prosecutors have ever publicly apologized to Omelyan or been punished for illegally prosecuting him.

A similar story may happen to former Minister Mykola Solsky, who was accused in May of misappropriating land in Sumy region in favor of ATO soldiers. This story is already eight years old, and the reasonable timeframe for investigation has been exhausted, but detectives decided to report it only this year. Moreover, at a time when Solsky had achieved results in negotiations with the Poles on the export of agricultural products.

However, the publicly available materials indicate dubious evidence of detectives, as evidenced by the expert opinion of manipulation with the examinations in this case. They tried to "merge" one of them and annul it through the court - probably because such expertise testified to the innocence of the former minister.

As a reminder, international experts have submitted a list of candidates to the Cabinet of Ministers for the commission that will check the NABU. UNN wrote about them in detail here.