NABU continues to use the services of “its” experts who calculated disputed damages in the Rotterdam+ case
Kyiv • UNN
The NABU continues to order forensic examinations from related parties, despite the conflict of interest. The NACP records violations but refrains from inspections, raising concerns about the objectivity of investigations.
Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine continue to order forensic examinations from their colleagues and friends, even though the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) records a conflict of interest. The next forensic examinations for anti-corruption activists will be conducted by the Expert Group "ES&D" LLC, UNN reports .
Another four tenders for conducting forensic economic examinations for NABU were won by Expert Institution ES&D LLC. In total, the bureau will pay the company more than UAH 250 thousand for them.
The conflict of interest is related to the fact that forensic examinations are ordered by Senior Detective Viktor Yarema, and performed by the daughter of his former colleague from the Rivne Prosecutor's Office, who is registered as an LLC "ES&D". Moreover, the orders are regular.
The NACP, in turn, refrains from verifying the recorded conflicts of interest and "turns a blind eye" to such investigations by NABU detectives.
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Manipulation of examinations is a common practice for NABU, but it often plays against the detectives themselves. For example, as was the case with the examinations in the cases of Rotterdam+ and former Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan. According to lawyer Iryna Odynets, NABU lost in court because during the investigation, detectives in these cases "drew" forensic examinations in friendly private offices, and then unsuccessfully tried to confirm their accusations with them. Volodymyr Omelyan himself also noted that detectives engaged "dubious experts" during the investigation of the case against him.
In addition, the NABU tried to leak the expertise in the case against former Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky, which they themselves had ordered and which was apparently supposed to testify to Solsky's innocence.
Given the repeated facts of such manipulations, the idea of NABU head Semen Kryvonos to create his own expert institution for the bureau looks extremely alarming. In this case, there may be many times more "painted" examinations, and thus NABU investigations may turn into biased persecutions similar to the mass political terror of the Soviet NKVD.
This was also emphasized by foreign experts who audited the NABU. The auditors believe that the creation of a criminal institution under the Anti-Corruption Bureau will not resolve the issue of the objectivity of examinations in criminal proceedings investigated by detectives.
Political analyst Ruslan Bortnik also criticized the idea of creating a separate expert institution for the NABU, emphasizing that this would only lead to even more chaos in public administration.
