NABU wants to search MPs without Prosecutor General's permission
Kyiv • UNN
NABU wants to search MPs without the Prosecutor General's permission.
Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine want to be able to launch investigations against MPs and conduct searches on the basis of only the permission of the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and without the approval of the Prosecutor General, UNN reports.
Foreign experts conducted an audit of the NABU's activities for the period from 2021 to 2023. In their report, they stated that they had identified several limitations on the powers of detectives in order to improve their performance.
In particular, NABU detectives complain that they cannot launch investigations into possible corruption of MPs only on the basis of the SAPO prosecutor's permission, but must also obtain the approval of the Prosecutor General. Also, anti-corruption investigators cannot search the premises of MPs, apply for temporary access to banking information about them, or take other measures without the Prosecutor General's approval.
In addition, the NABU detectives are not satisfied with the legal restrictions on the use of certain undercover means and operational tools.
However, the question arises as to whether consent to investigative actions is really an obstacle to effective NABU investigations. After all, detectives have long been "famous" for high-profile exposés of high-ranking officials, but sometimes it takes them ten years to prove their "exposure.
Add
At the end of May, the NABU was caught up in a scandal - it became known about the alleged disclosure of pre-trial investigation data by the bureau's representatives in the interests of alleged businessman Yuriy Holyk, who is a person involved in the anti-corruption investigation into the Big Construction.
Due to this case, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos suspended his first deputy Gizo Uglava from his duties for the duration of the pre-trial investigation.
In addition, on June 20, another journalistic investigation was published about the alleged leakage of data from the NABU, in which the bureau's director, Semen Kryvonos, was implicated.
Following the scandals, MPs from the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy summoned NABU Director Semen Kryvonos to a meeting. However, he ignored the summons , claiming that it was too early to discuss the investigation into alleged data leaks. After that, the MPs decided to hold an offsite meeting at NABU, but it is not yet known when it will take place.
Recall
International auditors have previously statedthat the HACC has been considering cases for years, while NABU detectives can investigate them for decades.
And, as practice shows, the duration of an anti-corruption investigation does not affect its quality, as the NABU's "high-profile" cases against high-ranking officials have repeatedly fallen apart in court.
A good example is the criminal proceedings against former Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan. Both cases collapsed in the courts. As the former minister noted in an interview with UNN, the NABU criminal proceedings caused him significant reputational and financial damage. For many years, he has been mentioned in NABU reports as a minister against whom criminal proceedings have been opened, which has led to problems with banking institutions, among other things.
However, the NABU and the SAPO did not officially apologize to the former minister for the illegal criminal prosecution and damage to his business reputation. This was done only by individual detectives in private conversations.
One of the recent "high-profile" cases that NABU has been investigating for five years is the case against the former Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solskyi. According to the investigation, Solskyi allegedly took possession of land plots in Sumy region that allegedly belonged to the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences.
However, as it turned out later, neither he, nor his family or affiliates have such land. However, ATO participants, who have been granted the right to privatize them, do. The NABU refused to specify what exactly Solsky had seized . Moreover, the detectives tried to "leak" the examination, which they themselves had ordered and which, apparently, was supposed to testify to Solsky's innocence. However, the public accusations had their effect - Solsky resigned from his post as minister.
