President's office orders law enforcement to eliminate Ukrainian anti‑corruption agencies' influence

Ukrainska Pravda's sources have stated that the heads of law enforcement agencies under the control of the Office of the President have been instructed to do everything possible to "eliminate the influence" of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).

Source:an investigation by Ukrainska Pravda

Quote from the article: "The active phase of the private confrontation between the president and the anti-corruption camp began with the Chernyshov case. Everything that happened before that can be described as minor misunderstandings, attempts to control independent bodies by influencing certain officials or sabotaging their work through other law enforcement agencies."

Details: The case of Deputy Prime Minister for National Unity Oleksii Chernyshov was a turning point. It demonstrated how powerless the ruling elite can be when NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors get to one of its representatives.

Sources in law enforcement agencies interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda said that several meetings were held at the Office of the President during the scandal surrounding the Chernyshov case which were attended by the heads of law enforcement agencies controlled by the government.

Based on information from Ukrainska Pravda, representatives of the state leadership at these meetings expressed complaints about the lack of compromising materials on anti-corruption bodies.

After that, the State Bureau of Investigation began investigating road accidents involving NABU employees, including one in 2021. On the same day, the Security Service of Ukraine took measures to eliminate Russian influence on certain employees of anti-corruption agencies.

Ukrainska Pravda sources say that the heads of law enforcement agencies controlled by the Office of the President were told to do everything they could to destroy NABU and SAPO's influence.

For reference: Oleksii Chernyshov is a Ukrainian statesman and politician. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister for National Unity of Ukraine from December 2024 to July 2025.

On 27 June, the High Anti‑Corruption Court set bail of UAH 120,002,668 (about US$2.93 million) for Chernyshov, who is suspected of abuse of office and large‑scale bribery. The court also obliged him to appear when summoned, inform authorities of any change of residence or work, stay in Ukraine, and avoid contact with other suspects or witnesses.

The bail was paid on 2 July. However, the court did not suspend him from office despite NABU’s request, and the then Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal even sent a letter to Chernyshov’s lawyer explaining why he should not be removed.

Background:

• On 22 July, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) voted in favour of draft law No. 12414, making NABU and SAPO dependent on the decisions of the prosecutor general. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it into law that evening.
• Protests were held in many cities across Ukraine after the law was passed.
• After that, Zelenskyy promised to submit a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that would "empower the law enforcement system" and preserve "all provisions necessary for the independence of anti-corruption institutions".
• On 24 July, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's draft law No. 13533 on the independence of the anti-corruption bodies NABU and SAPO appeared on the Verkhovna Rada website.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!