The NBU has taken on more than 60 deputies and the top of power: FT described ten years of the Bureau

Over ten years, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has transformed from a small anti-corruption body into a structure whose investigations touch deputies, ministers, and people from the president's inner circle. The Financial Times writes that there are more than 60 current and former members of parliament involved in NABU's proceedings, though this does not mean all of them are suspects.

The Financial Times devoted a large feature to the ten-year anniversary of NABU. The publication describes NABU's path from a post–Revolution of Dignity body with limited resources to one of the most visible centers of influence on the Ukrainian political system.

According to one of NABU’s leading detective division heads, Oleksandr Abakumov, cited by FT, the Bureau is investigating cases involving more than 60 current and former lawmakers. At the same time, a person being under investigation does not, in itself, mean they have been notified of suspicion or that guilt has been established.

In the past year, high-profile NABU and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) cases have touched high-ranking officials, ministers, and people connected to the presidential vertical.

One of the loudest episodes was the case of illegal call centers. Anti-corruption agencies announced the exposure of a criminal organization that, according to the investigation, was headed by the head of one of the Office of the Prosecutor General’s structural divisions.

Following the development of this case, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned. Kravchenko himself did not receive the status of a suspect in this proceeding and denied involvement in illegal activities.

FT also recalls a number of other investigations that touched the top echelons of Ukrainian power. Because of this, the Bureau is increasingly influencing the political environment, though NABU itself insists that it acts based on criminal proceedings rather than political interests.

Separately, Financial Times mentions last year’s attempt to curb NABU and SAP's independence. The government’s decision at the time sparked protests within the country and a sharp reaction from international partners.

Ultimately, the independence of anti-corruption bodies was restored. According to FT, this crisis did not weaken the Bureau but, on the contrary, made its position stronger and drew even more attention to its work.

At the same time, a political dispute surrounds NABU’s activities. Some deputies accuse the Bureau of politicizing certain investigations, but the agency itself rejects such claims.

This nuance became a trigger for manipulation in parts of Ukraine’s Telegram space. Some channels presented FT’s material as if the British publication directly accused NABU of political influence, though in the original article the thesis is presented much more cautiously.

Financial Times describes the Bureau as a force that Ukrainian politicians now have to reckon with. In one formulation, NABU is compared to a “Damoclean sword” hanging over members of the political elite.

Meanwhile, NABU’s influence in the article is linked primarily to the scale of its investigations and its ability to bring cases to the highest levels of power, rather than to an official participation of the Bureau in the political process.

These stories are what the editors of the publication Ekspert gathered in one large special project, “Carthage.” Its main distinction from a regular chronology is the ability to see adjacent cases that usually exist in the news feed separately from one another.

One of them is the “Midas” operation. NABU is investigating a likely large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector, in which suppliers to Energoatom allegedly faced demand to give a portion of the contract value for payment. In August, NABU director Semen Kryvonos spoke of “significant substantial progress” in this case.

A separate piece, “Barrier,” shows the mechanism of this story through the supplier's relationship with a state-owned enterprise: goods have already been delivered, acts signed, and the payment question becomes a coercive tool.

From this case emerges the next storyline — Herman Halushchenko. Under the former minister, at the end of June a bail of 150 million UAH was posted. According to UNIAN, money came from several legal entities. By August NABU and SAPO announced a separate operation, “Forest Gump”: investigators are examining how funds could have been laundered for this bail through accounts controlled by companies and a state bank.

This story is dedicated in the special project to two materials: “Took Off the Train” and “Forest Gump.”

Another storyline, literally a few days later, became one of September’s main political events. NABU and SAPO announced the exposure of an organization whose members are suspected of systematically taking money from fraudulent call centers. Prosecutor Serhiy Kropyvnyk was granted detention with the alternative bail of 120 million UAH, Elizaveta Ivakhnenko — 20 million UAH, and several other suspects were also given preventive measures.

In the backdrop of this case, Ruslan Kravchenko initially said he saw no grounds for voluntary resignation, but later that same day announced he had filed the corresponding statement. As of 9 September, UNIAN reported that the document had not yet been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.

The full history of this proceeding is compiled in the material “Carthage.” Next to it, the editors separately investigated the very market of fraudulent call centers in the piece “Office.”

The scale of the problem became especially evident in August. Police, SBU, and the Prosecutor General’s Office conducted 411 searches and shut down 94 fraudulent offices. Law enforcement officials reported over 100 million UAH in losses identified for victims in Ukraine, the EU, and Central Asia.

Another part of “Carthage” concerns government funds during the war. At the end of August, the Accounting Chamber published the results of an audit of procurement and development of armaments for 2024–2025 years. Of 614 billion UAH in purchases, more than 90%, or almost 580 billion UAH, were for procedures without competition. Auditors also found inconsistencies with the law totaling nearly 350 billion UAH, but these sums cannot automatically be equated with embezzlement or losses.

This is what the material “War as Business” is devoted to.

Another layer concerns the judiciary. In the summer, VAKS approved an agreement with former Chairman of the Supreme Court Vseslav Knyazev. He pled guilty, received five years in prison with confiscation of property, and later anti-corruption authorities announced suspicions against several more Supreme Court judges.

The story of money marked by banknotes and the Grand Chamber can be read separately — “The Grand Chamber.”

The topic of declarations also continued. NABU suspects former ambassador and vice prime minister Olha Stefanishyna of illegal enrichment exceeding 13,9 million UAH and false declaration. In August, VAKS set her bail at 6 million UAH, later paid by a law firm. Stefanishyna denies the charges are warranted.

This case is analyzed in the special project’s piece “Filed Under a Girlfriend.”

Another story concerns payments under the “green tariff” for solar plants in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region. NABU estimates potential losses at 141,3 million UAH. Among the suspects is Rostyslav Shurma, former deputy head of the OPP, who said he is not hiding and is ready to cooperate with the investigation.

More details — “Green Tariff.”

The final part of the special project is not about a specific amount or one surname, but about the anti-corruption system itself. The Center for Human Rights ZMINA studied 29 cases of possible pressure on anti-corruption actors in 2025–2026 years. In 28 cases, criminal proceedings were opened; in total there were 30; none of the episodes with so-called Russian trace at the time of the study ended in a guilty verdict. These are the authors’ conclusions, not a court determination of the illegality of the proceedings themselves.

This line is completed by the material “A Year Without Verdicts.”

As a result, the special project “Carthage” consists not of a single “main case,” but of twelve stories involving different institutions, different procedural statuses of people, and different levels of evidence. That is why each material separately notes where it recounts the version of the investigation, where there is already a guilty verdict, and where the case is just beginning.