FAQ
1. What is the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine?
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is a central executive agency with a special status responsible for preventing, detecting, terminating, investigating, and disclosing corruption and other criminal offences within its jurisdiction, as well as preventing the commission of new ones.
2. Why was the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine created?
As corruption still constitutes one of the most serious problems undermining Ukraine's development, the necessity of establishing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine was one of the key requirements set by the European Union as a part of implementation of the Visa Liberalization Action Plan and Ukraine's subsequent membership in the EU. NABU operates under the Law of Ukraine “On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine” passed on October 14, 2014.
3. Who falls under NABU’s jurisdiction?
NABU investigates corruption and other criminal offences committed by the President of Ukraine whose term of office has expired; Members of Parliament; Prime Minister; Members of the Cabinet of Ministers, First Deputy and Deputy Ministers; members of the National Сouncil of Television and Radio Broadcasting, the National Commission for State Regulation of Financial Services Markets, the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, the Antimonopoly Committee; the Head of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting; the Head of the State Property Fund, First Deputy and Deputy; the Head of the Central Election Commission; the Head of the National Bank, First Deputy and Deputy; members of the National Bank Board; the Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, First Deputy and Deputy; the National Security and Defence Council Secretary, First Deputy and Deputy; the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, First Deputy and Deputy; Advisers or Assistants of the President of Ukraine, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada, Prime Minister;
Follow this link for more information about NABU’s jurisdiction.
4. From what sources is NABU financed?
NABU is financed exclusively from the State Budget of Ukraine. Funding from any other sources is prohibited by law, except for the cases stipulated by Ukraine's international treaties or international technical assistance projects (Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine dated October 14, 2014 No. 1698-VII "On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine"). From the moment of its foundation, within the framework of international technical assistance projects, NABU received assistance only in the form of equipment, gear, training, etc. Any funds (grants) in national or foreign currency that might be provided by international institutions have never reached NABU.
5. Where can I follow NABU's activities?
All information on NABU's work can be found on the Bureau’s official website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Telegram pages. For more information, including in figures, refer to NABU’s biannual reports.
6. How many people work at NABU?
NABU has 700 employees, including 246 detectives.
7. Who runs NABU?
The Bureau's managerial functions are performed by the Director, who has the right to appoint four deputies. The Director approves Bureau's structure and staff quantity within each department.
Legal Department, Internal Control Department, Human Resources Department, Director’s Support Division, Documents Flow Division, Secret and Regime Division report directly to the Bureau's Director.
8. How can a person get a job at NABU?
Appointments to all positions at NABU (except for Director’s deputies) are made on the basis of the results of open competitions. Thus, only the best candidates join the Bureau's team.
9. What do NABU detectives do?
The NABU Detectives combine the work of an operative and an investigator. That is, not only they investigate committed crimes, but also collect information on those serious and especially serious offenses that a person under investigation plans to commit.
10. Are there any NABU offices in other regions?
NABU has regional offices (Departments) in Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv regions.
The Lviv Territorial Department covers Lviv, Volyn, Zakarpattya, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne and Khmelnitsky regions.
The Odesa Territorial Department covers Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.
The Kharkiv Territorial Department covers Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia regions and the Joint Forces Operation area (Luhansk and Donetsk regions)
11. How can a person report corruption or unjustified assets?
- call the special toll-free NABU line 0-800-213-200 on Mon - Thu: from 9 am to 6 pm / Fri: from 9 am to 4:45 pm / lunch break from 1 pm to 1:45 pm / at other hours, weekends, and holidays you can leave an answerphone appeal/report/message which will be processed the next working day;
- fill in the electronic form on our website;
- send an appeal/report/message to the e-mail address info@nabu.gov.ua;
- send an appeal/report/message by mail to the address: Kyiv or the addresses of territorial offices in Lviv, in Odesa, in Kharkiv;
- come to NABU public receptions in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa or Kharkiv at the above addresses;
- leave an appeal/report/message in the box "For appeals, reports or messages", located in a public place at the National Bureau and its territorial offices.
12. How long does it take to investigate a high-profile corruption crime?
Corruption crimes investigated by NABU are complex, committed with a high level of conspiracy, often involving companies registered abroad. Therefore, finding out all the circumstances takes time, requires communication with competent foreign authorities and a lot of scrutiny. According to article 28 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, all legal actions or procedural decisions have to be performed or made within a reasonable time frame.
13. What are the functions of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office?
According to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine a prosecutor is supposed to monitor compliance with the law during pre-trial investigation and represent prosecuting party in court.
In order to guaranty the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, investigations conducted by the NABU Detectives are supervised by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
14. The head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) is also a Deputy to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. How can independence of the SAPO be guaranteed?
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is completely independent. All the appointments are made through open competitions.
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is located either at the premises of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine or at the premises of the Prosecutor General's Office (regional or district prosecutor's office) located separately from other PGO premises. (according to the Law of Ukraine “On Prosecutor's Office”). At present, the SAPO headquarters is situated in Kyiv, 17 Isaakian str.
15. Does NABU investigate all corruption crimes in Ukraine?
No. NABU investigates criminal corruption crimes committed by top officials. For a full list of persons falling under NABU's jurisdiction, see this link. Other corruption offences fall under the State Bureau of Investigation and National Police jurisdiction.
16. How do I find out whether NABU is investigating a case against a certain person?
NABU does not provide information about anyone under pre-trial investigation, as this information constitutes the secrecy of investigation. We publish information about the course and details of investigations on our website and social media to the extent allowed by the secrecy of investigation.
17. Why don't you disclose the names of detainees/suspects/accused?
Disclosure of such information violates the presumption of innocence. According to Part 4 Art. 296 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the name of a person who is detained, suspected or accused of committing a criminal/administrative offense can be used (published) only after a court conviction/decision takes effect.
According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered non-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.
18. Who ensures the safety of detectives?
NABU special operations unit protects detectives when they catch persons red-handed, serve notices of suspicion, conduct searches, etc.
19. How much money has been returned to the budget as a result of NABU's work?
The result of NABU's work is, in particular, an economic effect in the form of compensation for damages caused by crimes, confiscation of ill-gained profits and prevention of theft.
For example, in 2022, the economic effect of NABU's activities amounted to UAH 1.86 billion, of which UAH 1.25 billion was returned to the state, and UAH 609 million was used to boost the country's defensive capacity. Read more about the economic effect of NABU's activities in our reports.
20. Who has been imprisoned by NABU?
Nobody, because NABU is a pre-trial investigation agency. A prison sentence is passed by court. But it is thanks to the work of the NABU Detectives and SAPO Prosecutors that such sentences become possible. As of Jan. 19, 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court had passed 106 verdicts, including 94 guilty verdicts.