Searches in NABU and SAPO paralyzed the work of anti-corruption bureaus and prosecutors’ offices and caused concern in the West. On July 22, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill that strengthens the influence of the Prosecutor General on the anti-corruption vertical. Late in the evening of the same day, despite public protests, the President of Ukraine signed this document. The reaction of the world media was not slow. The main points from the analysis of Bloomberg, Reuters and WSJ.
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Ukrainian security services have detained employees of the country’s main anti-corruption body, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), and conducted dozens of searches, in a move that the NABU called excessive and effectively paralyzing its activities, Reuters reports.
The SBU has detained one NABU employee on suspicion of spying for Russia and another on suspicion of having business ties to Russia. At least 15 NABU detectives have been the targets of searches, a significant portion of which, according to the bureau, are related to traffic accidents and have no connection to Russia, Bloomberg notes.
Popular Category Money Date Yesterday “A 180-degree turn.” The Rada abolished the independence of NABU and SAPO. What does this mean for the work of anti-corruption bodies and relations with partners?
The searches show the government’s massive pressure on anti-corruption agencies, Transparency International notes, and calls on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to guarantee their independence. Ambassadors from the G7 countries have expressed “serious concern” about the events at NABU and plan to discuss it with Ukraine’s leadership, Bloomberg reports.
The Security Service and the UCP exposed Russian intelligence infiltration into the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Photo: SBU Press Service
The case of Chernyshov and Shabunin
NABU was created in 2015 in response to demands from international donors and civil society to investigate corruption among high-ranking officials, but has been under constant political pressure, Bloomberg writes.
In June 2025, NABU announced suspicion against former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov in a corruption case. Chernyshov himself denied all charges.
In July 2025, the State Bureau of Investigation charged Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Center, with evading military service, raising concerns about the possibility of political retaliation, Bloomberg adds.
Shabunin and his associates viewed these accusations as political revenge by the Office of President Volodymyr Zelensky for exposing corruption among officials, Reuters writes.
Search results
The SBU has detained an alleged Russian intelligence agent who worked within the NABU and passed information to his handlers at least 60 times, the SBU press service reports. A senior NABU detective was also detained on suspicion of mediating in his father’s sale of industrial hemp to Russia.
Separately, the SBU announced the connections of high-ranking NABU officials with Fedor Khrystenko, a former MP from the banned Ukrainian opposition party OPZH, who left Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Reuters reports.
The State Bureau of Investigation has reported suspicions to three NABU employees in cases of road accidents two and four years ago, Reuters notes. The risk of penetration by agents of an aggressor state exists for any state body, but this cannot be an excuse for stopping the work of the entire institution, Bloomberg writes, citing the NABU.
The SBU inspected the SAPO office without official notification, gaining access to information about all operational measures of anti-corruption agencies, according to SAPO. This creates risks of data leaks about ongoing investigations, Bloomberg notes.
The SBU responded by denying that it had full access to the prosecutor’s office’s data and emphasized that its comprehensive review was conducted in accordance with current legislation.
The SBU documented at least 60 episodes of the transfer of restricted information to the former deputy head of security for ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych by the person involved. Photo: SBU Press Service
What’s next?
This wave of detentions is likely to call into question Ukraine’s commitment to fighting corruption at a time when President Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to convince Western allies to maintain military support in the fourth year of a full-scale Russian invasion, comments Bloomberg.
The charges against NABU detectives are so broad and contradictory that they point to ulterior motives for the operation. Zelensky is being called upon to publicly guarantee the independence of anti-corruption institutions.
The situation surrounding NABU is attracting particular attention from Ukraine’s Western partners. As one of the representatives of the Western embassy notes, the development of the situation is being monitored very closely, Bloomberg concludes.
Updated at 15:02 July 22:
The Verkhovna Rada has supported an initiative by the Office of the President of Ukraine to strengthen control over the country’s independent anti-corruption bodies – a move that critics say is an attempt to give Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team more influence over the investigation, writes the FT.
MPs voted in favor of bill No. 12414, which effectively eliminates the independence of the NABU and its partner, the SAPO, according to four MPs and officials familiar with the vote who spoke to the Financial Times. The bill received 263 votes, and in another vote, 246 MPs approved the immediate sending of the law to the president for signature.
The attempt to subordinate NABU to the executive branch is the latest step in a series of actions against pro-European activists and anti-corruption campaigns that have sparked warnings about “creeping authoritarianism” under martial law and concern from Ukraine’s Western partners, the FT concludes.
A lawmaker close to the president told the FT that dismantling the bodies that support Ukraine’s Western partners could create problems for Kyiv at a critical time, as “we need money.” However, the Servant of the People faction has been instructed by its leadership to pass the law as soon as possible so that the president can sign it quickly, the FT writes.
Updated at 8:47 on July 23:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed bill No. 12414 late on July 22, effectively eliminating the independence of the country’s main anti-corruption body, despite protests and calls from Ukrainian society not to do so. Critics believe the innovation will silence the opposition and concentrate power in the hands of the president, writes WSJ.
The law strips NABU of its independence. On Tuesday, July 22, after the document was passed by parliament, more than 1,000 people gathered outside the Office of the President with slogans like “Shame” and “Zelensky, veto.” It was one of the largest demonstrations against the government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
The president’s office and the Servant of the People party, which has a majority in parliament, did not respond to WSJ requests for comment.
According to the law, the Prosecutor General receives broad powers over the NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Since the Prosecutor General is appointed by the president, this effectively gives Zelensky the opportunity to block investigations into his entourage.
“We are witnessing the dismantling of the anti-corruption infrastructure in Ukraine,” Daria Kaleniuk, co-founder of the NGO Anti-Corruption Action Center, which helped create NABU after the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, told the WSJ. She added that the US has recently reduced pressure on the Ukrainian authorities in the anti-corruption sphere, which the government has taken advantage of to weaken the bureau.
A crackdown on independent anti-corruption institutions could jeopardize Western support for Ukraine, a key factor in both the war with Russia and its push toward EU membership, the WSJ writes.
Opposition members of the Verkhovna Rada have claimed that the rules were violated and have tried to block the rostrum, although to no avail. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, one of the president’s main critics, said that the law “definitely does not bring Ukraine closer to democracy, the rule of law and legality – to the values for which our soldiers are dying today.” Its authors, he added, are “pulling Ukraine towards authoritarianism.”