Corruption in Ukraine is not decreasing, and the “top tier” is even growing, - head of the SAP

The level of corruption in Ukraine remains unchanged, and bribery among the highest officials is even rising.

What hinders the fight against corruption Klemenko stated that the state demonstrates a lack of political will to fight corruption properly. "Corruption in Ukraine is not decreasing. It remains at the same level. Or, if we talk about top corruption, it even increases. The state demonstrates that it does not have the political will to fight this corruption properly," said the head of the SAP. According to him, the problem with the expert institution remains unresolved. Also, the so-called Lozovy amendments, which give corrupt actors the opportunity to avoid accountability by closing proceedings on purely formal grounds, have not been repealed. A separate problem Klemenko named is the lack of powers at the SAP to independently initiate investigations regarding members of parliament and to approve investigative and covert investigative actions concerning MPs. "Therefore we should not depend on the will of another official who does not belong to the Anti-Corruption structure at all," the head of the SAP emphasized. Photo: Klemenko stated that corruption in Ukraine is not decreasing (infographic RBC-Ukraine) Why international investigative groups are needed Klemenko drew attention to the problem of extradition and the creation of joint investigative groups with other states. In his words, most corruption schemes today go beyond Ukraine and affect several jurisdictions at once. As an example, he cited the Madis case, in which a large number of jurisdictions are involved in legitimatizing funds. "We need to create international investigative groups with other jurisdictions to receive evidence as quickly and conveniently as possible in this particular criminal proceeding and to exchange information with prosecutors in other jurisdictions," Klemenko explained. According to him, these problems have not been resolved for a long time, and they should be discussed openly.

Meanwhile, in July 2026 it became known about the reform of Energoatom following a large-scale corruption scandal. Prime Minister Serhiy Koresky announced an update to the company’s charter, which is meant to reboot corporate governance at Energoatom after exposing a scheme of kickbacks from the company’s contractors in the Madis case. Recall that in May 2023 detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and SAP detained the head of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Knyazev on a bribe of 2,7 million dollars. Investigations established that the judge, together with accomplices, demanded funds for issuing a necessary decision in favor of businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago.