Ukrainian anti-corruption activist faces charges as his team alleges government pressure
Editor's note: This story was updated following a statement from Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation.
Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center's (AntAC) executive board, who is currently serving in the army, has been charged with military service evasion and fraud following searches at his home and military unit on July 11.
"We consider these searches to be another wave of attack on Vitaliy Shabunin and the AntAC for criticizing the Presidential Office and (Presidential Office head) Andrii Yermak personally," the AntAC's statement read.
The Kyiv Independent couldn’t reach the President’s Office for comment.
According to the center, Shabunin has not made contact since the searches.
Shabunin is one of Ukraine's most influential anti-corruption crusaders. He told the Kyiv Independent in May that three criminal cases had been opened against him since the start of the full-scale war. He believes all cases are politically motivated.
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) said that the new charges are linked to a criminal case involving Viktor Yushko, a serviceman and former commander of the 207th battalion of the territorial defense of Kyiv, where Shabunin served at the beginning of the full-scale war.
Yushko is under investigation for alleged abuse of power, accused of authorizing fictitious business trips for military personnel, including Shabunin.
Yushko is suspected of approving Shabunin's business trip to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP), allegedly allowing him to avoid combat duties.
Another part of the criminal case concerns Shabunin's alleged illegal use of a gifted car.
Shabunin, who joined the Armed Forces at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and has served since then, denied the accusations and said the cases were fabricated. He said that the vehicle had been transferred to him personally, not to his military unit, adding that, under Ukrainian law, he was not required to transfer it to the unit.
A day earlier on July 10, Shabunin said he had been reassigned from his post in the city of Kharkiv to a front-line brigade — a move he believes linked to his anti-corruption efforts and criticism of the government.
If charged, Shabunin can face up to 10 years in prison.
"At this time, we consider the charges absurd and the searches of Vitaliy and his family — carried out without a court warrant — unlawful," the AntAC said.
Shabunin previously said he believed the cases against him to be politically motivated and linked to the President's Office and controversial Deputy Chief of Staff Oleh Tatarov.
Shabunin has regularly criticized Tatarov, who was charged with bribery in 2020. Law enforcement agencies have obstructed and eventually closed the case against Tatarov.
Tatarov allegedly holds considerable influence over law enforcement agencies, according to investigative journalists. President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to suspend or fire Tatarov despite the controversies.
According to the SBI, the allegations against Shabunin have "no connection to his professional work."
Since its foundation in 2012, the Anti-Corruption Action Center's members have been subjected to numerous attacks by those in power.
The activist was charged in 2017 with beating a pro-government blogger. Shabunin admitted hitting him as payback for insulting a female colleague but said that the blogger did not sustain any serious injuries and falsified a medical examination.
The case has seen no progress in court since then.
In 2020, a Kyiv court fined Shabunin for filing his 2019 asset declaration late. He admitted the delay and said he had submitted declarations in previous years before it became mandatory.
That year, Shabunin's house was set on fire. Later, grenades were found near his mother's and mother-in-law's apartments.
