The future of Ukraine's top anti-corruption agency hung in the balance as its second-in-command lashed out at his boss after a disciplinary commission recommended firing or reprimanding him.
Gizo Uglava, first deputy chief of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), continued to deny accusations of wrongdoing as he 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.
Uglava’s post and two sources close to NABU interviewed by the Kyiv Independent confirmed the disciplinary commission’s Aug. 28 recommendation to fire or reprimand him. The decision followed a probe into Uglava’s alleged pressure on a whistleblower who revealed information on the NABU’s first deputy chief allegedly leaking information to suspects and undermining the bureau’s credibility.
Kryvonos has yet to make a final decision on whether to fire or reprimand Uglava. His deputy Polina Lysenko told the Kyiv Independent that the bureau could not comment on the issue before its boss decided.
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.
The whistleblower case
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.
To fire or not fire Uglava
Kryvonos has been lambasted by parliament's anti-corruption committee and anti-corruption activists for failing to react quickly and adequately to the leak scandal – and for not firing Uglava.
A source close to the NABU confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that the commission had recommended either firing Uglava or reprimanding him. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The disciplinary commission is comprised of three representatives of the NABU and two representatives of the NABU’s civic oversight council.
Three commission members supported firing Uglava, and two voted against it, another source familiar with the probe told the Kyiv Independent.
The source close to the NABU said that Kryvonos could have a conflict of interest because he had had close relations with Uglava for a long time.
"If Uglava is fired, it will be a good step," the source told the Kyiv Independent. "This way Kryvonos will get rid of a reputational problem. But If Uglava is not fired, it will be the end for the entire institution. He will not be able to function normally."
He said that the decision on Uglava will be a litmus test for Kryvonos. If Uglava is fired, this could prove that Kryvonos is independent, the source added.
The source also argued that Uglava had spoiled his reputation by getting involved in political intrigues and bargains with the authorities.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
Uglava said on Facebook that he disagreed with the commission’s decision and called it "strange."
"There is no evidence in the materials that I have made any threats or exerted pressure on any person," he said. "Moreover, there is no motive for such threats, since the criminal proceedings on the information leak do not confirm my involvement and the fact of leaking information itself, and the content of the correspondence does not correspond to the real facts.”
Uglava added that he “hoped the law would prevail” but “an opportunistic approach has won.”
“We are waiting for (Kryvonos’) decision,” he added.
The Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnya reported on Aug. 28, citing its sources, that during a meeting of the disciplinary commission Uglava had played a recording in which Kryvonos allegedly told him that he considered him to be innocent. According to the alleged recording, Kryvonos also said he would have to fire Uglava because anti-corruption activists and international organizations were pressuring him.
Uglava and Kryvonos have been involved in a conflict with the Anti-Corruption Action Center, with Uglava filing a libel lawsuit against the Western-funded watchdog.
Oleg Sukhov
Controversial correspondence
The alleged leaks that sparked the current NABU scandal were discovered after investigators seized a phone belonging to businessman Yury Holyk, who was under investigation in a high-profile corruption case.
The phone contained copies of messages obtained by Holyk from Georgy Birkadze, who allegedly acted in Holyk’s interests and talked to NABU employees from 2021 through 2023. Some of the messages have since been published by investigative journalists.
One of the interlocutors told Birkadze in October 2022 that Oleksandr Kubrakov, who was infrastructure minister at the time, wanted to meet him. Kubrakov told the Bihus.Info investigative journalism project that he had met Uglava several days after the message was sent.
Birkadze also refers to this interlocutor as a "compatriot" – an apparent reference to the fact that both Birkadze and Uglava are Georgians. They also discuss traditional Georgian food such as khachapuri and lobio.
A law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent that "the style and semantics of the messages don't match Uglava's" but at the same time only Uglava could have access to all the information mentioned in the correspondence.
Another law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent that several versions are being investigated: the messages were either written by Uglava himself, or by someone on his orders, or Birkadze typed them up himself based on information from the NABU to present them to Holyk.
The criminal investigation into the leak is being carried out by the NABU's internal audit unit and supervised by prosecutors of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
However, Kryvonos said in July that detectives of the unit had no authority to investigate the head and deputy heads of the NABU, which means they wouldn’t touch Uglava. Moreover, he said that investigating the cases of employees divulging investigative secrets was not within their jurisdiction.
Under Ukrainian law, the case may be transferred to the State Investigation Bureau if the NABU lacks jurisdiction.
No charges in the criminal case have been announced so far.
Oleg Sukhov
