NABU charges SBU officer with bribery amid mounting pressure on anti-corruption institutions
Editor's note: This story was updated to include a response from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) regarding the bribery charges.
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have charged a senior officer of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and two accomplices with extorting a $300,000 bribe, NABU announced on July 22.
The charges come as Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, including the SBU, launched investigations into several NABU employees in what watchdogs call government pressure on the anti-corruption institution.
According to NABU, the SBU officer, who worked in the Department for the Protection of National Statehood, is suspected of demanding payment from a person under investigation for allegedly organizing illegal border crossings for military-age men during wartime.
In exchange, the officer reportedly promised to destroy case materials and suppress already uncovered facts. When the individual refused, the suspects allegedly threatened to pursue harsher charges that could lead to criminal prosecution.
Authorities said the suspects were caught after receiving a partial payment of $72,000. The SBU officer has been charged with bribery. The suspects' identities were not disclosed.
The Kyiv Independent has reached out to the SBU for comment. In response, the agency said that the case had originated from its own internal investigation.
According to the SBU, the officer was caught "red-handed" in 2024 during an operation led by the agency's Internal Security Directorate and the National Police. The case was later transferred to the State Bureau of Investigation and then to NABU due to the large size of the bribe.
The SBU said NABU detectives have since completed the investigation and handed the case to court. The officer faces up to 12 years in prison and confiscation of assets.
The charges come just one day after Ukraine's independent anti-corruption institutions themselves came under pressure. Several law enforcement bodies, including the Prosecutor General's Office, the SBU, and the State Investigation Bureau, conducted sweeping searches of NABU's premises and operations.
At least 70 searches were carried out targeting NABU and SAPO, with 15 employees under investigation.
While the SBU cited suspicions of Russian infiltration and administrative misconduct, including allegations ranging from traffic accidents to treason, anti-corruption watchdogs and opposition lawmakers denounced the move as politically motivated.
Critics, including the Anti-Corruption Action Center, warned that the searches appeared to be a coordinated effort to dismantle Ukraine's independent anti-corruption infrastructure.
The anti-corruption crackdown occurred while NABU chief Semen Kryvonos and chief anti-corruption prosecutor Oleksandr Klymenko were abroad on a working trip in the United Kingdom. Both returned immediately following the searches.
In response to NABU's accusation that the SBU accessed secret investigative data without proper court warrants, the Security Service defended its actions as legally justified under national security protocols.
The SBU has also detained a NABU employee on charges of spying for Russia, and a second officer accused of links to illicit drug trade and pro-Russian actors.
