The Chapter increases distrust of the NABU by requiring a public review of the internal investigation against it

The Chapter increases distrust of the NABU by requiring a public review of the internal investigation against it

Kyiv  •  UNN

August 15 2024, 05:00 PM  •  22750 views

NABU First Deputy Director Gizo Uglava requests an open meeting of the disciplinary commission on August 21. He emphasizes the importance of ensuring the objectivity and transparency of the process.

First Deputy Director of the NABU Gizo Uglava asks to make public the meeting of the disciplinary commission, which will consider the materials of the official investigation against him, to ensure objectivity, UNN reports.

He said that a meeting to consider whether there are grounds for disciplinary action against him is scheduled for August 21.

Since the case has already become public and is of great importance to society, in my opinion, the meeting of the Disciplinary Commission should be held in open mode

- Uglava noted.

In particular, he asks to invite free listeners and media representatives to the commission's meeting, to provide the audience with the opportunity to take photos, video and audio recordings, and to broadcast the meeting live.

The dissemination of information in this case... guarantees transparency and openness, completeness and objectivity in the consideration of disciplinary proceedings, as it will provide the possibility of publishing factual data on the presence or absence of facts and circumstances established during the official investigation that are important to the public and public opinion

- the Head of State said in his address.

Let's add

Allegations of bias and political bias in the NABU have been made repeatedly. A good example is the case of the anti-corruption activists against former Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan. He has repeatedly stated that detectives were one-sided in the case against him due to political bias. Both cases against him collapsed in the courts, but NABU did not officially apologize to the former minister for illegal criminal prosecution and damage to his business reputation.

There is also concern about violations of the presumption of innocence by the NABU, as in the cases against Mykola Solskyi and MP Serhiy Kuzminykh.

The Kharkiv Human Rights Group also criticized NABU for statements that violate the presumption of innocence. They believe that the real reason for Solsky's prosecution is the reform of the land market in Ukraine.

Gizo Uglava, only after he himself became a subject of the NABU investigation, admitted that there were serious problems with the investigation conducted by anti-corruption officials and noted that the bureau was focused on achieving "external goals" rather than establishing the truth.

Recall

In late May, the NABU was caught up in a scandal when it became known that representatives of the bureau had allegedly disclosed data from the pre-trial investigation. As a result, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos suspended his first deputy, Gizo Uglava, from his duties for the duration of the pre-trial investigation.

After that, Uglava statedthat the bureau was in danger of losing its independence, and detectives were under political pressure, which significantly reduced the effectiveness of the fight against corruption.

At a briefing on August 9, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos saidthat the internal investigation into possible pressure on whistleblowers, in which Uglava is involved, has been completed, and violations have been recorded. Kryvonos emphasized that this internal investigation does not concern the leakage of information from the NABU, another pre-trial investigation is being conducted regarding the "leaks" and its results will be reported separately.