Top Ukrainian anti-corruption official fired over pressure on whistleblower
Gizo Uglava, the second-in-command at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), has been fired following a probe into his alleged pressure on a whistleblower, the bureau said on Sept. 3.
Semen Kryvonos, head of the NABU, dismissed his first deputy chief Uglava for violating a public servant's oath, ethics rules and the Ukrainian law on public service, the NABU said.
On Aug. 28, a disciplinary commission recommended firing or reprimanding Uglava, who denied the accusations of wrongdoing. The decision followed a probe into Uglava’s alleged pressure on a whistleblower who revealed that the NABU’s first deputy chief was allegedly leaking information to suspects and undermining the bureau’s credibility.
Anti-corruption activists and experts describe Kryvonos’ decision on Uglava as a crucial test for the NABU’s integrity and independence. The reputation of the NABU, set up in 2015 as part of Western-backed anti-corruption reforms, has been undermined by the whistleblower scandal.
Uglava has been the NABU's first deputy chief, effectively second-in-command, for nine years. He was suspended upon his own request in May after the probe was launched, but has criticized the public calls to fire him.
NABU is a key agency in Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure, set up after the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution to fight graft. NABU investigates top officials' corruption. Its part of a system that also includes the National Corruption Prevention Agency, the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, and High Anti-Corruption Court.
Uglava has been probed for allegedly pressuring a whistleblower who revealed information on the NABU reportedly leaking case materials to suspects in a high-profile corruption investigation and warning them about upcoming searches.
A criminal case into the leaks was launched in May. Two internal probes into the alleged pressure on the whistleblower and illegal instructions allegedly given by top NABU officials to detectives were also initiated in May.
The leak scandal and its aftermath have prompted accusations that the NABU’s independence was compromised, allegedly with involvement of several people linked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.
Uglava claimed in a Facebook post on Aug. 29 to have "provided indisputable materials that demonstrate (NABU chief Semen Kryvonos’) personal interest... in dismissing me illegally."
Later on Aug. 29, Uglava also accused Kryvonos of pressuring him to resign and having a conflict of interest in the potential decision on his dismissal.
Uglava added that the National Agency for Anti-Corruption Prevention had launched an investigation at his request into an alleged violation of anti-corruption law by Kryvonos. He claimed that Kryvonos had no legal right to fire him due to the investigation.
Oleg Sukhov
