NABU did not stop work for a single minute in 2022 - Gizo Uglava
During the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, NABU not only did not stop its work but also joined the fight against the occupiers. Anti-corruption agencies showed their resilience, and the anti-corruption system works effectively despite objective difficulties. This was noted by acting NABU Director Gizo Uglava during a public discussion "Anti-Corruption During the War. Results of 2022".
"The focus of NABU detectives' work is systemic corruption. During the last six months, we exposed a criminal organization that seized power in Odesa and liquidated schemes at public enterprises and institutions, such as Ukrnafta, Odesa Port Plant, and Ukrgasbank. However, in 2022, NABU's work was not limited to anti-corruption. We fruitfully cooperate with the Ministry of Defence and other security agencies, send thousands of reports about enemy targets and objects. We also managed to direct more than UAH 1 billion in pledges, seized and confiscated assets to the military," Gizo Uglava noted.
Allan Pagh Kristensen, head of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative, noted that the pace of the fight against corruption continues to grow, despite the war.
"Anti-corruption agencies are working even more motivated. Ukrainians are more united in the fight against corruption, and NABU and SAPO have recently demonstrated even greater determination in achieving their goals," he added.
Andrii Syniuk, deputy head of SAPO, stressed that the number of top corruption cases is growing and the need for legislative changes is urgent.
"Despite the war, NABU and SAPO kept the pace of corruption investigations. In the future, we will continue our work just as effectively, and this will certainly lead to an increase in the workload on detectives, prosecutors, and judges of the HACC, respectively, whose staff is limited," added Andrii Syniuk.
The discussion was organized by the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) on Feb. 10, 2023. The event was attended by the heads of anti-corruption institutions - NABU, SAPO, the HACC, the HACC AC, and the NACP.
