The actions of law enforcement agencies are deterring international investors who are ready to come to Ukraine after the war ends
Kyiv • UNN
MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that groundless investigative actions are the main barrier to investment. Ukraine's reconstruction requires $588 billion, including private capital.
Unjustified investigative actions by law enforcement agencies are one of the main barriers to attracting international investment, without which Ukraine's recovery after the end of the war will be impossible. This was stated by Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zhelezniak, commenting on the importance of investment for the country's future economic development, reports UNN.
Investment in Ukraine's recovery
According to the World Bank's estimate, rebuilding Ukraine will require approximately $588 billion, and the lion's share of these funds must be provided by private investors, rather than international donors or governments.
"Who would take money to a country where a search is just a matter of time?" – Zhelezniak said, adding that the problem had already become systemic.
The issue of the investment climate was also raised by Roman Shulzhyk, founder of a Ukrainian miltech fund and former member of PrivatBank's supervisory board, during a discussion organized by RRA for Ukraine. In his opinion, the amount of private capital that Ukraine manages to attract after the end of the war will become the main indicator of the country's success.
"If, in the first five years after the end of the war, we bring in at least $100 billion in private capital – then we have won. If we bring in only $10–20 billion – then Russia has won. This means that Ukraine remains a corrupt country in which it is impossible to invest," he stressed.
Zhelezniak supported this assessment, noting that large-scale private investment should become the foundation of the state's economic recovery. In particular, he said, foreign investors are currently especially interested in Ukraine's defense industry.
The difference between international financial assistance and private investment should also not be forgotten. Zhelezniak stressed that, for example, IMF funds are credit resources, whereas private capital means the creation of production facilities, jobs, and long-term economic growth.
Illegal investigative actions may undermine investors' interest
At the same time, it is precisely in the sector that currently has the greatest potential for attracting foreign capital that law enforcement agencies have recently conducted high-profile searches. The member of parliament recalled that during July alone, law enforcement officers carried out investigative actions at several companies in the defense industry.
At the same time, according to him, almost every fifth complaint received by the Business Ombudsman Council concerns precisely unjustified actions by law enforcement agencies.
In Roman Shulzhyk's opinion, such stories may deprive Ukraine of future investment.
"If we now terrorize even this one or two billion that we receive (from foreign investors – ed.) with all sorts of State Bureau of Investigation and Economic Security Bureau actions, then we are stealing our future victory," he said.
Yaroslav Zhelezniak stressed that an international investor does not analyze the legal nuances of Ukraine's law enforcement system.
"A foreign fund does not sort out what the law enforcement agency is called that recently literally and figuratively slammed the company they were considering for investment face-first into the floor and is conducting a whole series of searches, while also photographing all the documents. Whether it is the State Bureau of Investigation, the Security Service of Ukraine, or even the Economic Security Bureau. They see one thing – people in balaclavas entered the company. This is obviously bad. In any part of the world, it means that some terrible, terrible crime is taking place there, because otherwise they would simply have sent a request. And, as you understand, no one is interested in whether there will be a conviction or not. They will not invest money in this company, and especially in this sector, after that anyway," the lawmaker explained.
That is why, according to him, even isolated high-profile coercive actions by law enforcement officers can nullify years of work to attract foreign capital.
The rule of law is becoming an economic issue
In the opinion of the member of parliament, this is precisely why reforming the law enforcement system is now not only a requirement of European integration, but also a necessary condition for the country's economic development.
He reminded that a bill on reforming the State Bureau of Investigation has already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada and, according to him, complies with Ukraine’s obligations to the European Union. In addition, the lawmaker has repeatedly emphasized the need to reform the Economic Security Bureau as well.
It is worth noting that Zheleznyak’s parliamentary colleagues, in comments to UNN, also speak about the need to audit the criminal proceedings investigated by the ESB to determine whether they were commissioned. They also point to the need to reboot and clean up the law enforcement agency.
In addition, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy sharply criticized the work of the Economic Security Bureau following consideration of its report for 2025.
The members of the parliamentary committee were dissatisfied not only with the quality of the reporting; some of the figures presented also raised doubts about their reliability. The lawmakers noted the low effectiveness of the ESB’s work, stating that of the nearly 6.9 thousand criminal proceedings investigated by the ESB in 2025, suspicions were announced in only 12.9% of cases, while 13.1% of the cases, or 904 criminal proceedings, were referred to court.
In addition, according to the committee members, the effectiveness of some divisions cannot be assessed at all.