The leak of information from SAPO and NABU and the news about the dismissal of the first deputy director of the bureau, Gizo Uglava, tore apart the media space. The scandal was associated with the entry of SAPО and NABU into the orbit of influence of the Office of the President after the departure of Artem Sytnyk.
Then searches were carried out in Uglava’s house, which were linked to "NABU leaks" of pre-trial investigation data in the interests of one of the businessmen involved in the anti-corruption investigation regarding "big construction".
NABU stated that they were interested in conducting an impartial investigation, but experts pointed to the crisis in the SAPO and NABU.
Thus, former people’s deputy Borislav Bereza said that "leaks from SAPO and NABU indicate an internal struggle over which of them will be more useful to the President’s Office."
Due to the discreditation of Anti-Corruption Services, the long-standing case of the former Minister of Ecology Mykola Zlochevsky can now be compared with the trial of the former Chairman of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Kniaziev.
Political expert Volodymyr Tsybulko, commenting on the scandal with the leaking of information from SAPО and NABU on his personal blog, writes: "Let’s only remember the former Head of the National Bank of Ukraine Kyrylo Shevchenko or Denys Chernyshov, the former Deputy Chairman of Ukrgasbank. Criminal cases against them have been open for 10 years and may remain in this state for decades to come."
Thus, a situation has arisen in Ukraine where SAPO and NABU have leverage over business. As Tsybulko writes: "Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Services do not investigate crimes, but rob businesses. Today it’s "profitable" – the case is opened, tomorrow it’s "not profitable" – the case is closed."
The disgusting state of Ukrainian prisons can also be a beneficial mediator in negotiations with those who have the opportunity to open a criminal case on formal grounds. Ukrainian businessmen, knowing about the poor conditions in pre-trial detention centers, not to mention prisons, can make any deal, thus getting caught on a "hook" from which it is impossible to jump.
If a businessman decides to leave Ukraine or transfer his business abroad, anti-corruption officials may declare that new evidence has appeared in a 3-10-year-old case and flood European authorities with requests. All of the above can be interpreted as a "squeeze" of business.
"Europeans are already beginning to realize that they are simply being "blindly" used by their Ukrainian colleagues. By flooding the European court with requests for investigative actions and extraditions, Ukrainian anti-corruption officials are using the European judicial system as an accomplice. In the field of European legislation, not a single case of a Ukrainian businessman based on such a schematosis would even reach the court," sums up Volodymyr Tsybulko.
The partners who initiated the creation of SAPО and NABU are losing faith in the possibility of adequate functioning of Anti-Corruption Services in Ukraine. After almost 10 years of existence of these structures, the result of their work already requires international intervention.