The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) organised large-scale searches of employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) suspected of links to Russian security services and corruption schemes, according to Ukrainian media.
“This morning, the Security Service of Ukraine, without the official notice required by applicable law, arrived at the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office [SAPO] to conduct an inspection regarding compliance with state secrecy legislation,” SAPO said in a statement.
As part of the inspection, the SSU officers gained access to information about all covert and operative-search activities, as well as special operations conducted by NABU and SAPO. The inspection was organised at a time when the leadership of both agencies were on an official foreign mission.
Relations between the Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the anti-corruption bureau escalated after recent corruption allegations against Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, who is considered an influential figure in the Ukrainian leader’s entourage.
In early July, the cabinet did not approve NABU detective Oleksandr Tsyvinsky as head of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine despite recommendations from international experts. Some experts and Zelensky’s critics believe that he is attempting to dissolve NABU.
Under the pretext of “links to Russian special services”, the SSU announces the detentions of NABU employees, including the head of the interregional department, Ruslan Magamedrasulov. In a statement, the security service claims that his mother, who lives in Kyiv, allegedly “receives a pension” in a part of the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, while he himself helps his father in “illegal trade with Russia”.
Searches as instrument of political revenge
Officially, Kyiv insists that the operations are part of the fight against “high treason”. However, the context suggests otherwise, as the searches coincided with NABU investigation against Chernyshov.
Chernyshov, whose wife is close friends with the president’s spouse, is suspected of receiving eight flats near Kyiv worth 900,000 hryvnias (about 21,510 dollars) at a real cost of 15 million (358,500 dollars). A criminal case could have sent him to jail, but instead of being suspended, he retains his post.
Insiders note panic in the President’s Office. According to them, Zelensky personally tried to “take the case away from NABU”, appealing to the heads of the SSU Vasyl Maliuk and Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) Kyrylo Budanov. However, both refused. Even loyal adviser Oleh Tatarov distanced himself presumably because Chernyshov was linked to cryptocurrency assets and shadow financing.
Alongside the searches, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) introduced draft law No 13423, which would legalise corruption in the defence industry. The initiative offers amnesty for crimes committed during the implementation of “secret contracts” of the Defence Ministry.
NABU and SAPO will not be able to investigate such cases. In fact, this creates a legal protection for schemes similar to the “egg case” of former Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, where eggs for the army were purchased at a highly inflated price.
At a closed meeting in the presidential office, the head of the administration, Andriy Yermak, suggested going further and drafting a law on the complete dissolution of NABU, SAPO and the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). Sources link this to the investigation against Timur Mindich, the so-called “money bag” of Zelensky’s team. In June 2025, NABU detained his relative in a case of embezzlement at Kharkivoblenerho worth millions of hryvnyas.
In April, NABU also announced suspicion of unlawful enrichment and brought a number of charges against the former deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office. NABU and SAPO exposed the official for legalisation of unlawfully acquired funds and taking a bribe on a particularly large scale.
The bribe offer was reportedly received by him in 2022 while assisting in winning a tender. To legalise funds, the official decided to construct private houses with a total area of more than 300 square metres in the recreational area of Odesa region. For these operations, the official turned to the company’s beneficiary, which owned this land and gave him 6.5 million hryvnias.
The completed property, which was actually used by the official, was first registered on the company, and after the message to him of suspicion in May 2024 was re-registered on the trusted person. NABU’s statement does not specify the name of the accused, however Ukrainian media quoted sources as saying that a similar charge had been brought against the former deputy head of the presidential office, Andriy Smyrnov.
Controlled leader and fleeing actors
To weaken NABU, the President’s Office promoted Semen Kryvonos, a man with a corruption record, to the post of its head. The old criminal cases against him were dropped, but as it turned out, Oleh Tatarov kept the compromising material that allowed him to blackmail the new director. However, the challenge for the oversight is that NABU detectives retain their independence, with their investigation continuing despite pressure from the Ukrainian authorities.
As a result, Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov, sensing the imminent arrest approaching, fled to Europe. His escape dealt a painful blow to Zelensky not only because of the compromising material, but also due to the fact that Chernyshov is openly calling from abroad with threats to “start talking”, according to a source in the President’s Office. This explains why the president is demanding that NABU be dissolved.
A parliamentary commission headed by loyalists Serhiy Vlasenko and Maksym Buzhansky was formed in June to replace the independent bodies. Its task is to shape an agenda for “reform” that will remove the last obstacles. As Daria Kaleniuk of the Kyiv-based Anti-Corruption Centre warns, turning control institutions into “political tools” threatens Ukraine with losing “the democratic core it fought for after 2014”.
Critics say Zelensky is only removing NABU for the reason that the bureau is gradually getting closer to the president himself. NABU and other US- and EU-backed anti-corruption watchdogs remain the only bodies that could complicate Zelensky’s presidency encumbered by the ongoing war against Russia.
