Major corruption scheme discovered in Ukraine. The announcement comes two days after restoring the independence of anti -corruption agencies / Zelenski's message
European market in Kyiv, Ukraine, photo: Dominika Zarzycka / DDP USA / Profimedia
Ukraine anti-corruption organisms informed on Saturday that they have discovered a major corruption scheme through which military drones and inflated prices were purchased, an announcement that comes just two days after the independence of anti-corruption agencies has been restored, following major protests in the country, Reuters reports.
In a statement published online by both anti-corruption agencies, Nabu and Sapo, they announce that they had a parliamentarian in office, two local officials and an unspecified number of members of the National Guard. The name of none of them is mentioned in the statement.
“The essence of the (corruption) scheme consisted of the conclusion of state contracts with providing companies at deliberately inflated prices,” it is stated, which also states that those involved received illegal commissions of up to 30% of the contract value.
Four people were arrested.
How Zelenski reacted
In a separate statement, Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski was declared “grateful to anti-corruption agencies for their work.”
“There can only be zero tolerance to corruption, a clear collaboration to expose corruption and, as a result, a fair sentence,” he reacted.
“It is important for anti -corruption institutions to operate independently, and the law adopted on Thursday guarantee all the necessary tools for an authentic fight against corruption,” said the head of the Ukrainian state.
Controversial law that triggered protests in the country and critics from the West
A law adopted at the end of July provided for the placement of the National Anticorruption Agency (NABU) and the specialized anti -corruption prosecutor's office (SAPO) under the supervision of the Attorney General, appointed by the head of state.
The law was very poorly received by civil society and the European Union, triggering the first large -scale protests in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion of 2022. President Zelenski finally changed the course and signed a new law that restores the independence of these bodies, AFP recalls.
Faced with the first serious political crisis since taking over the mandate, six years ago, Zelenski tried to defend the initial text, accusing relevant inefficiency bodies and that it is under the “Russian influence”. Then he claimed that he “listened” to the protesters, proposing a new text greeted by Nabu and SAP.
