Fight for influence at the top of the Ukrainian state. Security Service and Anti -Corruption Agency, in open war. Kremlin – the only winner
Two of the most powerful institutions of the Ukrainian state – Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the National Anticorruption Bureau (NABU) – are in the middle of an unprecedented confrontation, searches, arrests and mutual accusations. Those involved admit that the fight only weakens the state institutions and serve Russia's interests, writes Kyiv Independent.
Vasili Mliuk, SBU/photo chief: X
The conflict, visible visibly in recent months, is perceived as an extension of the wider tensions between the Presidential Administration in Kiev and Nabu – an agency that, since its establishment, has enjoyed the direct support of Western partners and an independence from the Executive.
Accusations of spy and political vendete
It all started in July, when President Volodimir Zelenski promulgated a law that subordinated to the prosecutor General – a position policy controlled by the Presidential Administration. Public pressure was needed and firm reactions from the European Union so that the independence of the office was, at least theoretically, restored.
The day before the law, SBU searched the Nabu headquarters and arrested Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, the head of an investigation unit, along with his father, Sentyab. The two are accused of collaborating with the Russian Federation and of trying to facilitate the sale of cannabis in the Russian Republic of Daghestan.
Critics claim, however, that the accusations are manufactured and that Mahammedrasulov was targeted for political reasons, being previously involved in an investigation that targeted Timur Mindich, a business partner and close to President Zelenski. SBU has firmly rejected these statements.
Moreover, the defenders of Mahammadrasulov, including representatives of the Center for Anti -Corruption, speak of serious violations of the legal procedure, including alleged acts of torture. In one case, a key witness would have been threatened directly by SBU agents.
The war of criminal statements and files
In an increasingly dangerous “eye for eye” game, each institution has begun to investigate the other members.
On September 2, Nabu at the defendant on the former head of the Cyber Security Department of SBU, Illia Vitiuk, for illicit and false enrichment. Shortly after, SBU responded with an investigation against detective Nabu Vitali Tebekin for similar charges.
The searches continued: on September 25, SBU targeted the properties of Taras Likunov, a former detective Nabu and the brother of lawyer Olena Șcerban, one of the defenders of Mahamedrasulov. Likunov is accused of committing a state-owned company after investigating it-a possible conflict of interest.
An opaque episode: the return of a pro-Russian fugitive
A key moment of this institutional clash at representing the unexpected return to Ukraine of Fedir Hristenko, a former parliamentarian accused of betrayal and close to Kremlin. Former resident in Dubai, Hristenko was detained by SBU, but the circumstances of his return are enveloped in mystery.
Sources in the law enforcement area say that the deputy chief of SBU, Oleksandr Poklad, visited the Arab Emirates before Khrytenko's return, suggesting a possible understanding, probably with the direct involvement of the Presidential Administration.
Officially, the General Prosecutor's Office only transmitted that the fugitive returned “volunteer”.
SBU claims that Hristenko had connections with Mahamedrasulov and another detective Nabu – a fact categorically denied the anti -corruption office.
The same game, other names
Meanwhile, SBU is also concerned with accusations regarding possible connections with Russia. General Serhii Duka, a close relative of the investigations against Nabu, is accused of the fact that his wife's relatives received Russian passports and traveled to Russia during the invasion. SBU considers the investigation as “biased” and claims that the general has informed the institution about the family situation.
A war that will not end soon
Anti -corruption experts in Ukraine, such as Daria Kaleniuk or Olena Șcerban, see in these movements a clear attempt of the authorities to destroy the independence of Nabu – key institution in the integrity architecture promoted by Kiev's international partners.
“It is a personal revenge against a detective who has done his job. The purpose is to intimidate Nabu through a-special process,” says Kaleniuk.
Although both institutions involved seem to understand that an open confrontation does not serve the national interest, none takes a step back. And, as the official officials from both camps have recognized, the only beneficiary of this conflict remains Russia.
