Ukraine officials held in military drone corruption probe
In a statement on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky said a Ukrainian MP, heads of district and city administrations and several National Guard service members had been exposed for their involvement, which involved state contracts with suppliers being signed at prices inflated by up to 30%.
Zelensky wrote that there can be "zero tolerance" for corruption in Ukraine, and thanked the agencies for their work.
The independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies was restored on Thursday, following nationwide protests.
Zelensky's government faced an extensive backlash after introducing a bill that would strip the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, known as Nabu and Sap respectively, of their independence.
The president claimed the agencies needed to be "cleared of Russian influence", and sought to give the general prosecutor the authority to decide who should be prosecuted in high-level corruption cases.
Many saw the move as a step backwards for corruption in Ukraine, resulting in the largest anti-government demonstrations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.
Zelensky acknowledged public anger and submitted a new bill restoring the agencies' former independence, which was voted through by parliament just nine days after the original bill had been passed.
The head of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, thanked Zelensky for "hearing the public's call" regarding the powers of anti-corruption agencies and "not making a mistake".
The move was also praised by EU allies, who had voiced concerns over the implications of the original bill.
Young Ukrainians get their way as Zelensky overturns law to defuse crisis
Backlash grows after Zelensky strips anti-corruption bodies of independence
The fight against corruption is significant in Ukraine's bid to join the EU. The creation of Nabu and Sap was a requirement set by the European Commission and International Monetary Fund in 2014, in order to move towards a relaxation of visa restrictions.
As a result, Kyiv was granted EU candidate status in 2022, bringing the nation another step towards closer ties with the West.
Since their establishment, Nabu and Sap have been involved in far-reaching investigations into the misappropriation of millions of dollars' worth of assets and bribes across various ministries and sectors.
A joint investigation in 2023 resulted in the arrest of the head of Ukraine's Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, in connection with a $3m (£2.4m; €2.9m) bribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
BBC faces criticism over delay in paying court-ordered damages to Gerry Adams
The BBC has been criticised for not yet having paid court-ordered damages to former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams. The corporation lost a major defamation case earlier this year after Mr Adams took them to court over a 2016 episode of its Spotlight programme and an accompanying online story. They contained an allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson. Mr Adams denied any involvement. In May, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour and awarded him 100,000 euros (£84,000) after determining that was the meaning of words included in the programme and article. The BBC, which was found by the jury not to have acted in good faith nor in a fair and reasonable way, was also ordered to pay the former Sinn Fein leader's legal costs. Adam Smyth, director of BBC NI, expressed disappointment in the verdict and said the corporation believes it supplied extensive evidence to the court of the careful editorial process and journalistic diligence applied to the programme and accompanying online article. After the decision, the broadcaster's legal team was granted a stay in the payment of the full award as it took time to consider an appeal, subject to paying half the damages (50,000 euros or £42,000) and 250,000 euros (£210,000) towards solicitors' fees. In June, the BBC confirmed it would not pursue an appeal. However, it is understood that by August 1 the BBC had not paid the damages. Mr Adams previously indicated that he planned to donate what he receives to good causes. He specified that these would include for children in Gaza as well as groups in the Irish language sector and those who are homeless. A source close to Mr Adams told the PA news agency: 'The delay by the BBC is deplorable and it should move speedily towards discharging the order of the court.' A BBC spokesperson said: 'Total costs will be finalised and payable in due course.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies uncover drone procurement graft scheme
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies said they had uncovered a major graft scheme involving inflated military procurement contracts, just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore the agencies' independence. In a joint statement published Saturday on social media, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said the suspects had taken bribes in a scheme that used state funds to buy drones and other military equipment at inflated prices. 'The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,' the statement said, adding that offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30% of the contracts' value. The anti-corruption bodies did not identify the detainees, but said a Ukrainian lawmaker, local district and city officials, and National Guard servicemen were involved. Four people have been arrested so far, they said. The Interior Ministry said the National Guard personnel implicated in the case were removed from their positions. Drones have become a crucial asset in modern warfare for both Ukraine and Russia, enhancing military reconnaissance, precision strikes, and strategic flexibility on the battlefield. The majority of Russian military assets destroyed by Ukrainian forces, including manpower and heavy weaponry, have been targeted by drones. Drone production is also a key aspect of Kyiv's hopes to expand domestic military production and export markets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the development in his nightly address on Saturday, calling the graft scheme 'absolutely immoral' and thanking the anti-corruption agencies for their work. 'Unfortunately, these corruption schemes involved the procurement of electronic warfare systems and FPV drones ... There must be full and fair accountability for this,' he said in his address, posted to X. In an earlier post, which also included photos of him meeting with the agency heads, Zelenskyy said it is 'important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently,' adding that 'the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption.' The exposure of the graft scheme by NABU and SAPO came just two days after Ukraine's parliament voted to restore their independence. Ukraine's Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the bill presented by Zelenskyy, reversing his earlier contentious move that curbed their power and sparked a backlash, including street protests, a rarity in wartime. Last week's measure to place the watchdogs under the oversight of the prosecutor-general prompted rebukes from Ukrainians, the European Union and international rights groups. It raised fears that the government could meddle in investigations and potentially shield its supporters from scrutiny. Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars of vital Western aid in the all-out war, now in its fourth year. It's also an effort that enjoys broad public support. ___ Morton reported from London. Elise Morton And Samya Kullab, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Storer H. Rowley: Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump has created a police state
Six months into Donald Trump's second term, a lawless president is solidifying his law enforcement powers to create something most Americans didn't vote for and don't want: a police state increasingly robbing residents of their rights and due process. Unaccountable, masked immigration agents, many in plainclothes, are arresting farm workers in fields, raiding Home Depots and car washes, hunting unauthorized workers 'like animals,' and grabbing immigrants in courthouses, mothers and children in their homes, high school soccer stars and kids at baseball practice. Even U.S. citizens have been rounded up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, including children, and other children here legally seeking refuge, some of them sick, along with their parents in the country without legal permission. Many people snatched are quickly deported without due process. Some are 'disappeared' into detention facilities or shipped abroad before they can get legal representation. This hellscape of fear and chaos does not match up with Trump's campaign promise to mass-deport criminals and arrest 'the worst of the worst.' Residents here without legal authorization with no criminal records pleading their cases dutifully in court have been abducted by agents at courthouses. It is a shameful showcase for the cameras, an authoritarian regime running roughshod over constitutional rights, immigrant rights and human rights. Trump is improperly using the military on U.S. streets, defying court orders, caging detainees in deplorable gulags and dispatching ICE agents to grab anyone they can to meet arbitrary White House quotas of 3,000 a day. He makes a mockery of the rule of law by arresting Americans. Trump is escalating his war on immigrants as poll numbers on his immigration policies hit a record low. Six months in, the executive orders, court challenges, crypto corruption, firings and budget cuts seem bottomless, as well, and now he is grappling with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. And he's just getting started. Brace yourselves. It's going to get worse before it gets better. Look for the National Guard or the Marines coming next to Chicago. Recently, the GOP-led Senate narrowly confirmed Trump's former criminal defense lawyer, Emil Bove, to a lifetime appointment on the federal appellate bench after he was accused of defying the courts. Bove denied it, but one whistleblower said he told fellow Justice Department officials to ignore court orders if necessary to make sure deportation flights took off, alleging: 'Bove stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'f––– you' and ignore any such court order.' To be clear, Republicans and Democrats both agree that illegal immigration needs to be controlled. A bipartisan effort came close to finding a longer-term solution last year until Trump killed the comprehensive reform bill to weaponize the issue against Democrats in the Nov. 5 election. The question is how to do deal with illegal immigration legally and humanely. Americans voted to get the border under control, and to be fair, Trump's administration has done that. Crossings and apprehensions have slowed to a trickle. But they didn't vote for, nor do they support, what he is doing now: lawless crackdowns leaving migrants and Americans alike living in a republic of fear, danger and violence. 'Show me your papers' used to be the catchphrase for villains in World War II movies. Now, it's the harsh reality for many legal residents. Migrants who may have crossed the border illegally but are now going through the court system to plead their cases can be swept up and disappeared before their day in court. Worse, Trump and his top White House anti-immigration adviser, Stephen Miller, deliberately appeal to white nationalists and white grievance, leaving the feeling among immigrants that they are targeted in a deportation war aimed mainly against people of color. His administration has attacked diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and ICE agents have been accused of racially profiling immigrant communities. ICE denies this, but how many white European immigrants do you see in their detention centers? We have seen this pattern before, when whole groups of people are targeted — such as Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during World War II. The inhumane immigration detention center in the Everglades is Exhibit A. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem insists her immigration agents are behaving legally and building cases correctly. She denies racial profiling: 'It's been done exactly how law enforcement has operated for many years in this country, and ICE is out there making sure we get the worst off the streets,' she said. It's not hard to do this legally. Barack Obama and Joe Biden, when they were president, fought illegal immigration within the law. In fact, Obama upset many Democrats by being the 'Deporter-in-Chief,' deporting more immigrants at a higher rate than Trump has — and he did it legally. But Trump's lawlessness and authoritarian conduct goes way beyond immigration, and it has provoked sustained nationwide protests since he took office. He has threatened a number of law firms into submission, tried to quell free speech and dissent at universities, attacked the media with frivolous lawsuits to try to bend them to his will and silence his critics in the entertainment world. But his police state tactics are causing blowback too. Americans who care about their democracy must continue to rally to defend it. Only people power and voters can stop a criminal president. Even his unprecedented weaponizing of the Department of Justice to target perceived enemies has caused revulsion among the ranks over abominations such as his attempt to restrict birthright citizenship. The unit that prosecutes those cases has lost nearly two-thirds of its staff as DOJ attorneys leave rather than further his corrupt attempts to tear down the constitutional system. Trump's approach toward immigratioin has squandered his support. Many MAGA supporters still approve of his actions, but a majority of Americans in a recent CBS poll now see his deportation program as a net negative. Moreover, more Americans now see the value of immigration way more than they did a year ago, with the share wanting immigration reduced dropping from 55% in 2024 to 30% today, according to a recent Gallup Poll — and a record-high 79% of U.S. adults now say immigration is a good thing for the country. Clearly, the police state tactics aren't working, and that's a good thing for America.
