Significant changes have taken place in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine: Semyon Krivonos, director of NABU, dismissed Gizo Uglava from the post of first deputy. This decision was the result of a scandal related to the disclosure of confidential data and the Department's public critical statements against the bureau.
Gizo Uhlava became a key figure in the scandal about the alleged disclosure of pre-trial investigation data by bureau representatives. Because of this, NABU director Semyon Krivonos removed him from his duties and ordered a number of official investigations.
According to the results of the official investigation, Kryvonos made a decision to dismiss Uglava from his post. As reported by NABU, Uhlava committed "a series of actions and statements of a negative nature, aimed at personal and professional discrediting of the bureau employee, who submitted a memo about possible facts of information leakage."
"These actions (pressure of the Department on the whistle-blower - ed.) formed the understanding among NABU employees of the possibility of negative consequences for whistle-blowing activities, which is an unacceptable violation of the highest standards of ethics and integrity, which should be guided by the employees and senior management of NABU in their work", - they emphasized in the office
At the same time, Uglava himself said that he would go to court to prove his case.
"Today, I, Gizo Uhlava, the first deputy director of NABU, hand in my certificate and token #001 , and complete my service in this important position," Uhlava said.
He recalled that he had worked at NABU for 9 years, that is, since the creation of this anti-corruption body.
"I managed key operations and investigations that led to the discovery of large corruption schemes. Together with the team, we implemented modern methods of investigation and strengthened international cooperation, which enabled NABU to become a recognized and effective body... New challenges lie ahead, but my principles and convictions remain unchanged, so the fight for justice is not over," Uglava said.
It is worth noting that after Uhlava himself found himself on the other side of the investigation, he admitted that the bureau was in danger of losing its independence, and the detectives were under political pressure, which significantly reduced the effectiveness of the fight against corruption. In particular, under the pressure of activists and the head of the anti-corruption committee of the Verkhovna Rada Anastasia Radina.
He also complained about the bias and involvement of NABU detectives, and stated that the conclusions in the case against him regarding leaks of information from the bureau were made long ago "without trial and investigation."
In addition, Uhlava submitted a statement to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption about a possible violation of anti-corruption legislation by the head of the bureau, Semen Krivonos, and became a whistleblower. According to him, NAZK has started monitoring and control regarding the possible violation of anti-corruption legislation by the director of NABU.
The release of Gizo Uglava, who openly declared about political pressure and the involvement of detectives, will undoubtedly have serious consequences for the work of NABU. This dismissal may create a serious internal conflict and division among NABU employees. After all, the accusations of the Department towards the management of the bureau and accusations of leaking information testify to possible internal disagreements that affect the integrity of the team.
Such a situation undoubtedly affects public trust in the work of anti-corruption bodies, which is already extremely low.
In addition, Uhlava has already announced his intention to go to court, which may lead to further escalation of the conflict and cause new waves of criticism against NABU. Ultimately, this conflict may lead to changes in approaches to investigations within the bureau, and if Uglava's allegations prove to be true, it may prompt a change in NABU leadership.
Statements about the NABU's bias and political involvement have already been made several times, but anti-corruptionists did not pay attention to them.
A clear example is the cases of anti-corruption officers against former Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan. He repeatedly stated that the detectives were biased towards the case against him due to political involvement. Both cases against him collapsed in the courts, but NABU did not officially apologize to the ex-minister for illegal criminal prosecution and damage to business reputation.
There is also concern about violations of the presumption of innocence by NABU, as in the cases against Mykola Solskyi and People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh.
The Kharkiv human rights group also criticized NABU for statements that violate the presumption of innocence. The real reason for the persecution of Solsky is considered to be the reform of the land market in Ukraine.
