Ukraine arrests anti-corruption officials over alleged Kremlin links
The SBU said on Monday that it had arrested two officials working for NABU, one a suspected Russian spy and the other over alleged business ties to Russia.
The security service said one of the officials, who was unnamed, allegedly collected and sent the details of Ukrainian law enforcement officers and other citizens to the Kremlin.
"At least 60 episodes of transferring restricted information to his contact in the FSB have been documented", the SBU said in a statement.
The agent's "subversive activities" were coordinated by Dmitry Ivantsov, deputy head of security for former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the SBU said.
The agency said that Ivantsov in February 2014 helped Yanukovych flee to Russia — following the Maidan revolution — but himself "remained in Crimea, joined the ranks of the occupiers, and was recruited by the FSB".
Another senior detective, Ruslan Maghamedrasulov, was detained on allegations of helping his father do illegal business involving industrial hemp in Russia, and on suspicion of passing secret information to Russian spies, the SBU said in another statement.
A third statement by the security service said that fugitive pro-Russian politician Fedir Khrystenko — who it suspects of working with the FSB from Ukraine — "has significant influence on the activities of the NABU". This would be further investigated, the SBU said.
On Monday, NABU said that at least 70 searches had been conducted in relation to more than 15 of its staff members in different regions of Ukraine.
"In most cases, the grounds cited for these actions are the alleged involvement of certain individuals in traffic accidents," it said in a statement. "However, some employees are being accused of possible connections with the aggressor state [Russia]."
According to NABU, there is no evidence that its employee detained by the SBU was involved in anti-state activities.
In a post on Telegram, the agency said it received information concerning a "potential risk" associated with one of its staff members in 2023. After joint checks on the employee were conducted in tandem with the SBU, it was found that they posed no risk.
"The risk of agents of influence from the aggressor state [Russia] exists for any government body. However, this cannot justify halting the work of the entire institution," NABU said in a statement, adding that it criticised the use of force against its employees and the raid's execution without a court order.
Concerns over crackdown
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Ukraine stated that the searches carried out without a legal mandate demonstrated that the authorities were exerting "massive pressure" on Ukraine's anti-corruption agents.
The actions of the SBU show that authorities are "attempting to undermine the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions," the watchdog said.
"These actions appear to be aimed at forcibly obtaining information and influencing investigations into senior officials," it added.
Ambassadors of G7 countries in Kyiv also raised concerns, issuing a statement saying they "met with (representatives of) NABU today, we have serious concerns and we intend to discuss these developments with the leadership of the government".
The diplomats reiterated their support for "transparency, independent institutions and good governance" and partnerships with Ukraine "to jointly fight corruption".
Separately, Transparency International Ukraine last week raised concern over the arrest of anti-corruption campaigner Vitaliy Shabunin.
Shabunin, the co-founder of the NGO Anti-Corruption Action Centre has been charged with fraud and evading military service. The prosecution "has signs of being politically motivated", according to Transparency International Ukraine.
In an interview with The Kyiv Independent published on Monday, Shabunin said he believed the authorities were trying to "make an example out of him".
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