What is known about the candidates for the NABU contest on hromadske?
78 people applied for the director position at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, but only 22 candidates reached the practical task stage. Half of them are current NABU employees. Other candidates include representatives from the State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General, as well as individuals from outside the system.
Candidates completed the practical task on January 28 and are gearing up for integrity and professional compliance interviews.
The material reveals which candidates have questionable financial situations, whose parents purchased an apartment for them, and who are associated with the leadership of the President’s Office. hromadske.
What's happening with NABU right now?
In recent months, NABU and SAPO have issued numerous suspicions to officials and lawmakers. They arrested Vasily Lozinsky, the acting Minister for the Development of Communities and Territories, over a $400,000 bribe, completed the investigation of the second episode of the Rotterdam + formula, and announced new suspicions against 15 individuals. They also issued suspicions against MPs from the Servant of the People party, Yuriy Kamelchuk and Volodymyr Gevko, for providing inaccurate information.
Anti-corruption organizations are currently closely monitoring the competition to ensure that someone closely associated with the authorities is not selected as the leader, potentially compromising NABU's independence.
Dmitry Gonchar / hromadske presents Vitaliy Vlasyuk as a candidate for the director position at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
Vitaliy Vlasyuk is a participant in the NABU contest.
Vitaliy Vlasyuk is the Deputy Head of the Kyiv OVA. His former superior, Alexey Kuleba, recently became Deputy Head of the Office of the President. Vlasyuk maintains friendly relations with Kuleba and owes his appointment to the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak. Vlasyuk’s brother, Vladislav, who is an adviser at the President’s Office, currently serves as the secretary of the Yermak-McFaul international working group on strengthening sanctions. Although, Vlasyuk does not see a potential conflict of interest in this: The head of NABU does not have any procedural authority to stop the proceedings, but represents the bureau in relations with the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada and other state bodies. I will be carrying out these responsibilities, not trying to influence detectives or instruct them on what to investigate. If caught doing so, I will immediately resign. hit Elena Shcherban, head of the legal department of the Center for Combating Corruption, has a different opinion. She believes that Vlasyuk’s background raises doubts about his political neutrality. Additionally, the head of the NABU has procedural powers related to the criminal process.
The director of the bureau can request files from other law enforcement agencies related to NABU. This directly concerns criminal proceedings. The director also has the right to immediately seize property in urgent cases, which may involve related or important individuals. In such cases, the director may choose not to make such a decision. While NABU detectives are indeed independent in their investigations, the director has the authority to dismiss them, thus being able to influence their work through administrative powersShcherban explains..
Before, Vlasyuk worked as a lawyer. In 2021, on his Facebook, he wished a happy birthday to Vitaly Serdyuk, a lawyer for fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych, citing his work defending the politician as 'an example of professionalism'.
“Now, when asked about that already deleted message, he reacts like this: I cannot subjectively assess the work of my colleague? Say: 'Yes, well done! Cool. The tactics you chose were the right ones. It was interesting to do it all.' Do I have the right as a professional to express such a view?
It is worth remembering that the lawyers of the Aver Lex company, where Vitaly Serdyuk works, delayed and disrupted the trial of Yanukovych. They did not attend meetings, they simply left the courtroom or interrupted the prosecutor during the debate.
The fact that Vlasyuk supports this practice of his colleagues is a warning for the commission, Oksana Shtogrin, legal adviser at Transparency International, believes.Semyon Kryvonos is a candidate for the position of director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine // Dmitry Gonchar / hromadske
NABU contest: Semyon Krivonos
This is not the first time Semyon Krivonos has applied for the position of head of the anti-corruption agency. In 2016, he could become the director of the Odessa branch of NABU, but he did not receive the position. During the competition, a scandal erupted. Journalists of Slidstvo.Info
“The question arises – how effective can he be as the leader of an anti-corruption body if he condones such behavior on the part of lawyers, especially not someone, but Yanukovych,” she says.
that, despite insignificant income, he became the owner of an apartment near Kyiv, which cost more than 3 million hryvnia, as well as two hectares of land in the Obukhov district.
Krivonos then explained that at the time of the purchase he was not a civil servant, and the money for an apartment and land was given to him by his parents working in the agricultural business. However, after a journalistic investigation, he withdrew his candidacy from the competition and resigned, although in fact he was the winner.
Kryvonos also provided us with a contract for the sale of the apartment, which indicates that its cost is 399 thousand hryvnia – much less than the journalists previously claimed ( discoveredaccording to the 2011 exchange rate, this is about 50 thousand dollars, – ed.
Krivonos has been heading the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning since 2021. After his appointment to this post, Mikheil Saakashvili wrote
Now he explains this decision as follows: “It was a mistake. I wasn’t ready. I was young and never faced media pressure. That is, I felt psychological pressure.”
on Facebook, in which he claimed that the candidacy of Krivonos during the competition was under the protection of the head of the Presidential Office Andrey Yermak and the former head of the Ministry of Regional Development Alexei Chernyshev.When asked what connects him with the Office of the President, Krivonos replies: ).
There is no connection to the OP. What Mikheil writes about Yermak – Mikheil is a political figure, I cannot comment on this. I can say that the decision on my appointment was made by Alexei Chernyshev based on the results of the interview fast Krivonos does not deny that he is friends with the Deputy Head of the President’s Office Oleksiy Kuleba. Krivonos’ wife was the head of the support department for Kuleba when he worked as the first deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration.
I talk to members of parliament, government officials, and ministers. If I become the director of NABU, this will not impact my work at all, Krivonos assures.”, Krivonos assures.“.
Oleksandr Vikul is a candidate for the role of director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine // Dmitry Gonchar / hromadske
“NABU contest: Oleksandr VikulThe statement from Oleksandr Vikul, a prosecutor from the Vinnytsia region, reveals significant savings – almost 49 thousand euros.
When asked about the source of the funds, he responded: “
My mother saved money for 20 years while living abroad. I prefer not to disclose her employer.
The candidate for the NABU leadership position adds that his mother earned the money through physical work. However, this explanation is not satisfactory for anti-corruption activists.
This narrative surely doesn't benefit the candidate. If you aspire to lead NABU and declare such funds, you should publicly explain their origin and provide confirmation,“, says the head of the legal department of the Center for Combating Corruption, Elena Shcherban“.
Additionally, Vikul posted philosophical thoughts about the absence of corruption in Ukraine on Facebook.
“He justifies his statements as follows:In my view, there is corruption to some extent, but not as extensively reported. I have interacted with many individuals and can personally evaluate the level of corruption and honesty. I am confident that there are individuals who have never engaged in corrupt practices.
In essence, the candidate believes that the issue of corruption in Ukraine is exaggerated, yet he is vying for the director position of the anti-corruption body. Legal advisor to Transparency International, Oksana Shtogrin, views this standpoint as naive. is divided One individual cannot assess the level of corruption across the entire state. The director of NABU is responsible for shaping the future of this institution. If a candidate suggests that there is not much corruption and there are many honest public servants based on personal experiences, it may indicate a lack of competence,
states the expert.Ruslan Kravchenko is a candidate for the role of director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine // Dmitry Gonchar / hromadske“.
NABU contest: Ruslan Kravchenko
“Kravchenko was a prosecutor in the Yanukovych case. He currently serves as the head of the Buchansk District Prosecutor’s Office and previously worked in the military prosecutor’s office under the supervision of Anatoly Matios. The latter was removed from his position in September 2019, and the military justice body itself was dissolved. The prosecutor’s office is remembered for several setbacks during his leadership. Specifically, the Matios department initiated three embezzlement cases in Ukroboronprom in one year, but none of them affected the primary defendants – Oleg Gladkovsky and his partners Vitaly Zhukov and Andriy Rogoza.Kravchenko spent a long time in the military prosecutor’s office under Matios' leadership. However, merely meeting or working together is not proof of dishonesty.
” – says the parliament member from the party “Voice”, the first deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on corruption policy Yaroslav Yurchyshyn.
Kravchenko’s 2021 statement shows that he and his wife, who works as the chief of the translation department at the Prosecutor General’s Office, together have $53,000 in cash.
We asked the candidate about the source of these funds, this is what he responded: “
“I began reporting in 2015, and each year we had a good income. Both my wife and I. So, we were able to save. In 2020, I left military service after more than 10 years and received financial assistance, which at that time was about 20 thousand dollarsVeronica Plotnikova, a candidate for the director position of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine among other candidates // Dmitry Gonchar / hromadske
He notes that the commission should conduct an in-depth analysis of the candidate’s activities and draw appropriate conclusions.
NABU Competition: Veronika Plotnikova
The only woman among the applicants is Veronika Plotnikova, Head of the Department for Implementing the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights in the Prosecution Activities of the National Academy of the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine. On the government website so far didn’t show up“.
her statement, although the candidate claims to have submitted the document.
We asked her what she would focus on if she won, and this is what she says:
The main thing here is not to undermine the current work, and to make sure that top officials cannot hide behind the conditions of martial law. To define the direction of what is happening in our area, where people are involved in this (in the received acquisitions – ed.) and sometimes conceal their transactions behind big slogans What prevented the election of the head of NABU? The only full-fledged director of NABU throughout its existence was Artem Sytnik. He held the position for seven years – from the formation of the body until April 12, 2022. Since then, NABU has had an acting director, former first deputy Sytnik Gizo Uglava.
Before the most extensive invasion, the Cabinet of Ministers issued a decree stating that a member of the commission for the election of the head of the SAPO cannot simultaneously be in the commission for the election of the head of NABU. Such a member turned out to be an independent member of the commission, Drago Kos. At the time, the Anti-Corruption Action Center suspected that the authorities were trying to disrupt the independent competition in this manner.The competition commission, with Kos as a member, was only able to begin working in August 2022. And now it had to assess the candidates' integrity and conduct interviews with them. They will inquire about the results of the investigations they carried out, and determine what specific skills they possess.“.
Three out of 22 will be selected. And then – the decision will be made by the Cabinet. And anti-corruption organizations are not very happy about this fact, because the authorities always have a tendency to choose the most loyal candidate.
Evgeny Shulgat
NABU contest: what is known about the candidates // hromadske 78 people applied for the position of director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, but only 22 candidates reached the stage with a practical task. Half of them are active NABU employees. There are also representatives of the State Bureau of Investigation and the […]
The competition commission, consisting of Kos, was able to start work only in August 2022. And now she had to check the candidates for integrity and conduct an interview with them. They will ask about the results of the investigations they conducted, find out what specific skills they have.
Three out of 22 will be chosen. And then – the decision is up to the Cabinet. And anti-corruption organizations do not really like this fact, because the authorities always have a temptation to choose the most loyal candidate.
Evgeny Shulgat
