NABU is not responsible for the High Anti-Corruption Court’s verdicts on top corrupt officials and for returning funds to the budget, says Kryvonos
11 February 15:59
The director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Semen Kryvonos , shifted the issue of the lack of real court sentences for top corrupt officials to the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). He noted this during a briefing on “The Results of NABU and SAP in the Second Half of 2025,” responding to questions from media representatives, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to Semen Kryvonos, NABU detectives are conducting investigative actions and, together with the SAP, are referring the case to court. The final decision on the sentence for the suspects must be made by the HACC.
“We are conducting an investigation, and that is where our role ends. Other questions should be addressed to the High Anti-Corruption Court. We are dealing with big fish; we really have a lot of suspicions about high-ranking officials and leaders of criminal organizations. The question of the final sentence is a matter for the High Anti-Corruption Court,” Kryvonos said.
At the same time, the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Oleksandr Klymenko, stressed that he expects the court proceedings to be expedited.
“This process is ongoing and the number of verdicts will increase. Some cases have been moving very slowly. For our part, we are developing a mechanism for presenting evidence in court that could simplify the system of evidence review and prevent delays in the process,” he said.
Klymenko also added that in 2025, 108 convictions were handed down in Ukraine in cases involving the NABU and the SAP.
Overall, the heads of anti-corruption institutions called 2025 a successful year for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
Economic feasibility
The heads of anti-corruption agencies also repeatedly called accusations of the agency’s inefficiency and reports of detectives’ significant wealth to be manipulation. In particular, when asked why Ukraine spends several times more on maintaining NABU than the Bureau returns to the state through its work, Kryvonos stated that returning funds to the budget “is not a function of the agency at all.”
According to Kryvonos, the Bureau’s activities should not be assessed purely in economic terms.
“I want to understand in this matter whether the main task of NABU is to justify its economic feasibility? That is, to return as much money in a year as is allocated for its existence, for salaries for detectives, for refueling cars, cartridges…,” he said.
Therefore, Kryvonos is convinced that the economic accusations that NABU “earns too little” are manipulations on the part of the anti-corruption bureau’s enemies.
As is known, starting in January, NABU will receive UAH 2.6 billion in funding per year, while last year (according to estimates by some experts) only UAH 680 million was returned to the state budget. In total, over 10 years, the state has spent more than UAH 10.6 billion on NABU’s work.
Recall thatSAPO head Klymenko declared a record salary for December: almost UAH 765,000.
