Shabunin Vitaliy Viktorovych

Civil activist, Chairman of the Board of the NGO "Anti-Corruption Action Center"

98 Media activity score based on the number of recorded publication changes.
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Person information

Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Action Center — the country's most famous anti-corruption activist under suspicion by the State Bureau of Investigations for evading service and fraud

Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ACAC) — Ukraine's leading anti-corruption NGO. Voluntarily mobilized on the second day of the full-scale invasion; participated in the defense of Kyiv with the 207th Territorial Defense Battalion. In February 2025, transferred from Kyiv to Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region — Shabunin himself linked the transfer to his criticism of the authorities. In 2017, he hit provocateur Filimonenko; the trial lasted until 2024; in 2023, Filimonenko himself admitted that he blackmailed Shabunin on behalf of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

Suspicion by the SBI for evasion and fraud — "Zelensky's step towards authoritarianism"

On July 11, 2025, the State Bureau of Investigations conducted searches at Shabunin's home in Kyiv and at the military unit in Chuhuiv; he was notified of suspicion for systematic evasion of military service and unjustified use of a Ukrainian Armed Forces service vehicle. The investigation lasted one and a half years; the suspicion was confirmed by the court. Shabunin called the suspicion "one of Zelensky's confident steps towards authoritarianism"; the ACAC described it as "lawlessness and political reprisal." The SBI emphasized that the suspicion is not related to anti-corruption activities. International partners and the EU expressed concern over the persecution of a leading anti-corruption activist.

Publications about the person

Scanned Telegram publication

Nikolov, Shabunin, and the Kryvonos case: where have the principles gone? Political scientist Ihor Reyterovych draws attention not only to the situation surrounding the head of the NABU, Semen Kryvonos, but also to the reaction of those who for years presented themselves as principled exposers of misconduct. "What is all the more surprising is the reaction to this situation from investigative journalists like Yurii Nikolov, Vitalii Shabunin, and many others. They fought for so long for the statu...

Scanned Telegram publication

⚡️Expose everyone, or only the "others"? An awkward question for anti-corruption journalists. Yurii Nikolov, Vitalii Shabunin — don't stay silent, — media. ⭕️The story around Semen Kryvonos, according to Ihor Reiterovych, long ago went beyond a personal issue for the director of NABU. Today it is already a test for the entire community that for years has demanded openness, explanations, and accountability from those in power. "All the more surprising is the reaction to this situation from inve...