Ukraine’s government – attacks on anti-corruption agency
There seems to be more concerns in Ukraine regarding the anti-corruption agencies, which has brought to the front many issues that have existed. Politico EU reported that the Secret Service of Ukraine (SBU) made over 70 searches. “The SBU alleges that one of the top detectives at the anti-corruption agency, Ruslan Magamedrasulov, and another elite officer at the bureau were working as Russian moles. Both were detained.” Even though there was an implication that they were searching for Russian spies, the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) believes that the searches risk disclosing information concerning possible covert investigations tied to the many possible criminal proceedings currently instigated by NABU and the Special Anti-corruption Prosecutors Office (SAPO). Additionally, the SBU’s actions have also been noticed by many European missions, as well as the EU, and they have all expressed concerns as the fight against corruption is an important metric tied to EU accession.
What needs to be done? These actions by the SBU, are quite concerning, but there is significant oversight by many groups, including civil society, international donors as well as the citizens of Ukraine. As I write, there are protests going on, expressing the concerns that are perceived and a reminder that even in the midst of a war, anti-corruption is important. Obviously, there are many issues tied to this, possible Russian influence, governmental overreach to protect itself as well as less than reliable information, and we must not take any of this at face value and assume that it is all legitimate. The overall perspective is to keep being vigilant, support the anti-corruption activists and encourage and continue ongoing monitoring by as many different actors as possible.
Links:
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-corruption-collusion-spy-russia-sbu-nabu/