'I'm ready to fight' — Ukraine's rejected nominee for economic crimes bureau calls government decision 'unlawful'
An anti-corruption investigator has publicly criticized the Ukrainian government’s decision to reject his appointment to lead the economic crimes agency, calling it unlawful — an unusual public statement in a field where investigators rarely speak publicly due to the sensitive nature of their work.
Oleksandr Tsyvinsky, currently a detective unit head at Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), gave his first public interview to Ukrainian publication Economichna Pravda, accusing the government of using "manipulative" security concerns to block his appointment to head the Bureau of Economic Security.
The move to reject Tsyvinsky comes amid a wider crackdown on anti-corruption figures, including activist Vitaliy Shabunin and recent Security Service searches of NABU offices on July 21. Observers have accused President Volodymyr Zelensky and his inner circle of attempting to exert control over independent agencies.
The Bureau of Economic Security, established in 2021 to investigate economic crimes, has been widely criticized for being ineffective and at times, a tool for putting pressure on select businesses.
As part of recent efforts to reboot the agency, an independent selection commission nominated Tsyvinsky to lead the bureau, but the government rejected his candidacy, citing alleged connections to Russia revealed in a letter from Ukraine's Security Service. Tsyvinsky's estranged father lives in Russia and holds a Russian passport.
When asked by Economichna Pravda whether the Security Service had raised concerns over his father's citizenship during earlier background checks, Tsyvinsky replied, "None at all," calling the story around his father "manipulative" and saying it exploits the sensitivity in Ukraine around anything connected to Russia.
After the government initially rejected Tsyvinsky's candidacy, the independent selection commission — made up of three international and three Ukrainian experts — said that it was aware that his father held Russian citizenship when considering his nomination.
The commission upheld its decision to nominate Tsyvinsky as head of the anti-corruption bureau and returned his candidacy documents to the government.
Following backlash over the government's decision, Ukraine's newly appointed prime minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko, said the Cabinet of Ministers' rejection of Tsyvinsky's candidacy was "in accordance with the law."
"A decision was submitted to us, and we, as members of the government, considered this decision, and each of us had the opportunity to express our position: to abstain, vote for, or refuse in accordance with the information that was heard ... regarding ties with the aggressor country," Svyrydenko said in parliament.
Appointing a new head of the agency by the end of July is required under Ukraine's commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of its loan program to Kyiv. According to the law creating the Bureau of Economic Security, the government has 10 days to appoint the candidate put forward by the commission.
Opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak's team — who co-authored the legislation governing the selection of bureau's leadership — previously told the Kyiv Independent that there is no mechanism to reject a properly nominated winner.
Tsyvinsky, whose interview is rare given the typically low public profile of anti-corruption investigators, spoke out to address controversy surrounding his father’s alleged Russian passport. He said he has not communicated with his father for over a decade and does not know his citizenship status, he said.
Tsyvinsky also noted that Ukraine’s Security Services has cleared him multiple times, including for sensitive military intelligence positions during the war. He has worked in law enforcement since 2003, where he first gained access to classified information.
"I served in military intelligence. Would they have taken me there if there were any security threats? That's a rhetorical question," he said.
During the interview, Tsyvinsky also highlighted a pattern of discreditation campaigns aimed at top-ranking anti-corruption candidates. He added that if genuine security concerns about him existed, his current employer at NABU would have been notified and the information made public.
"I definitely won't leave this story as it is," Tsyvinsky said, vowing to pursue legal action if necessary.
"I'm ready to fight. For me, this is primarily a matter of personal dignity," he said.
