SAPO

During the first years of investigations Ukrainian newly created anti-corruption agencies have shown valuable results, however further effective work of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) is impossible without establishment of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Court. This issue was brought up and later on discussed by the NABU Director Artem Sytnyk and by the Head of the SAPO Nazar Kholodnitskiy at the meeting with the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bridget A. Brink, which took place on December 8.

In April 2017 the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) started an undercover operation to embed the special agent to an organized criminal group consisting of current and former officials of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (SMSU). According to the operational data, upon prior conspiracy, the officials of the SMSU demanded and received funds for providing to foreigners the citizenship of Ukraine, certificates for temporary residence in Ukraine, as well as for quickening the production of biometric passports for Ukrainian citizens.

The Prosecutor General`s Office of Ukraine (GPO) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) illegally interfered with an undercover special operation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau aimed at identifying members of an organized criminal group in the State Migration Service of Ukraine.

During her visit to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine on November 28, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch said “the work of NABU and SAPO is important and not easy. Ukrainian people do want change. However, these changes will not happen without sentences in top-corruption cases. That is why the United States supports the idea of creating an Anticorruption Court in Ukraine.”

On November 15, 2017, the Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) under procedural guidance of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) conducted a number of searches. As a result, the person involved in embezzlement of funds allocated for the engineering and set up of the Ukrainian-Russian State Border, territories adjacent to the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone and to Autonomous Republic of Crimea (also known as Ukrainian Wall or European Wall) was detained.

On October 18, 2017, the Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) gave notices of suspicion to the former Head of the State Enterprise the Broadcasting, Radiocommunications and Television Concern (BRT), to the former Head of the Department of the same SE and to the Head of the private enterprise for allegedly committing crimes in a form of 1 million UAH embezzlement and forgery. The actions of the suspects were qualified under Part 5 Article 190 and Part 1 Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On October 16, 2017, the Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) under procedural guidance of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) detained the actual owner of a private enterprise on suspicion of public funds embezzlement during the purchase of fuel for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have exposed the corruption scheme of 149 million UAH public funds embezzlement during the purchase of fuel for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. On October 11, 2017, the NABU Detectives under the procedural guidance of the SAPO prosecutors conducted a number of searches. As a result, two persons – the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the Director of the Department of State Procurement and Supply of Material Resources of the Ministry of Defense were detained on suspicion of involvement in the crime.

As the result of the work of the joint investigative group of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Department of Special Investigations of the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine (GPO), a former Member of Parliament (MP) from the Party of Regions and an assistant of another MP from the Party of Regions were given notices of suspicion.