Ukraine uncovers large-scale corruption scheme in UAV procurement.
Immediately after regaining autonomy, Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO, promptly uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in the procurement of military UAVs.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies said they uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme involving the procurement of military drones and jamming systems at inflated prices. This development comes after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Prosecutor's Office for Anti-Corruption (SAPO) were restored to autonomy.
The independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption investigators and prosecutors, NABU and SAPO, was restored by parliament on July 31, after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law revoking the autonomy of NABU and SAPO, leading to the country's largest protests since 2022.
In a statement released by both agencies on social media, NABU and SAPO said they had apprehended a sitting legislator, two local officials, and an unspecified number of National Guard personnel for accepting bribes. None of them were named in the statement.
"The essence of the scheme was to sign state contracts with suppliers at deliberately inflated prices," Reuters quoted, adding that those involved received bribes of up to 30% of the contract cost. Four people have been arrested in connection with the scheme.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram: "Only with zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork to expose corruption, and the resulting just sentence can we achieve justice."
President Zelensky faced a rare political crisis when his attempt to bring NABU and SAPO under the control of his prosecutor general sparked the first nationwide protests over the war.
Zelensky later said that he had heard the public's anger and submitted a bill to restore the former autonomy of the agencies.
Ukraine's European allies praised the move, having initially expressed concerns about the stripping away of the independence of the anti-corruption investigative bodies.
Top European officials have told Zelensky that Ukraine is jeopardizing its efforts to join the European Union by curbing the power of its anti-corruption agencies.
"It is important that anti-corruption organizations operate independently and that the law passed on July 31 ensures them every opportunity to wage a real fight against corruption," President Zelensky said on August 3 after meeting with the heads of agencies who briefed him on the latest investigation.
