Media listed 10 major failures of NABU on the agency’s 10th anniversary
The media have listed 10 major failures of NABU on the agency’s 10th anniversary (photo: RBC-Ukraine)
Over the 10 years since its establishment, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has left Ukrainians deeply disappointed — spending significantly more on its operations than it has recovered from corrupt officials, according to UNIAN.
"Some 62.3% of Ukrainians do not trust NABU. That’s what 10 years of anti-corruption reform look like: the Bureau went from being a symbol of hope for cleansing Ukraine of corruption to something more akin to a shabby district police station riddled with flies and drug dealing. Legal experts have repeatedly voiced the same opinion — the Bureau should be disbanded, because no real results can be expected from it anymore," the article states.
One of the main criticisms is financial inefficiency: the state spends far more on NABU than it recoups through its investigations. In fact, the expenses are 2.2 times higher than the returns. In 2024, the state budget allocated 1.874 billion UAH to fund NABU, while the Bureau’s efforts led to the recovery of only 823 million UAH from corrupt actors.
Overall, and in direct violation of the law, not a single audit of NABU has been conducted over the past 10 years, and the Bureau has never once reported to the Ukrainian people in Parliament.
Among other failures highlighted by journalists: a NABU detective fled to Romania amid revelations of ties to Russia and serious personal debt; a Bureau representative was caught producing and selling amphetamines and other drugs; investigations into drone procurement abuses for the Armed Forces were leaked; witnesses were reportedly pressured into personal relationships with detectives; relatives of suspects were allegedly helped to evade justice; and anti-corruption NGOs have publicly named and shamed NABU on their "hall of disgrace".
