“NABU is cosmos”: Prosecutor General outraged by difference in salaries of law enforcement officers
25 July 2025 09:22
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko has criticized the unfair system of remuneration in law enforcement agencies, comparing the salaries of NABU, SBI and prosecutors. He made the statement during a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigation Commission, which is investigating corruption in the judiciary and law enforcement, reports
Kravchenko said that the head of the SBI department receives UAH 160,000 per month, while his own salary as Prosecutor General is UAH 95,000. Prosecutors of district prosecutor’s offices, who conduct 5 to 10 thousand criminal proceedings, receive only 35 thousand hryvnias.
At the same time, according to the Legal Policy Committee, the salary of a NABU detective in 2025 is UAH 69,038, excluding bonuses and incentive payments, which is higher than the salary of a judge (about UAH 63,000).
He added that NABU salaries are “outer space,” emphasizing the significant income gap between anti-corruption agencies and other law enforcement agencies.
The problem of salary calculation
The Prosecutor General emphasized the unfairness of the salary calculation system. For prosecutors, salaries are calculated on the basis of the subsistence minimum of UAH 1600, while for other civil servants, including tax officers and judges, the figure of UAH 2102 is used. Anti-corruption agencies, such as NABU, have an even higher base figure of UAH 3028.
“Why are we worse? I, as Prosecutor General, receive UAH 95 thousand, and the head of the SBI department receives UAH 160 thousand. According to you, I am responsible for all justice and anti-corruption – of course, but why is it so unfair?” Kravchenko said.
Kravchenko expressed outrage that prosecutors, who carry a huge workload, receive significantly lower salaries compared to other law enforcement agencies, such as the State Bureau of Investigation or the Bureau of Economic Security (BES). He suggested revising budget regulations to correct this disparity.
“In the district prosecutor’s office, each prosecutor has 5-10 thousand proceedings and receives UAH 35 thousand. And the State Bureau of Investigation, the BES are different. Not to mention the NABU, which has some cosmic salaries… If you think that prosecutors are all scoundrels, then make changes in the budget – prosecutors will receive 1600, and all other “not scoundrels” will receive 2102, it will be fair,” the Prosecutor General said.
As reported by
What changes for prosecutors
If the draft law is passed, from August 1 to December 31, 2025, the updated subsistence minimum of UAH 2,102, the same as for judges and civil servants working under special laws, will be used to calculate prosecutors’ salaries.
This will increase the salaries of prosecutors of district prosecutor’s offices. Currently, the basic salary is 25 subsistence minimums, or UAH 40,000 (25 × 1600). After the increase, the amount will rise to UAH 52,550 (25 × 2102).
No increase in expenditures
Despite the revision of the calculation base, the expenditures for the prosecutor’s office in the state budget remain at the same level, as shown in the comparative table of expenditures. That is, no funds are added for the overall increase in funding for the prosecutor’s office.
Prosecutors are the only ones with the “old” minimum wage
Today, the regular subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons is UAH 3028, but the “frozen” figure of UAH 1600 is still applied to prosecutors. This creates a significant inequality in salaries between law enforcement agencies.
For example, in the NABU, SAPO, or NACP, salaries have long been calculated at the full rate of the minimum wage (UAH 3,028). For comparison:
In the SAPO, the prosecutor’s salary in 2024 was UAH 109,008.
This is due to the fact that by law their salaries are tied to the salaries of the NABU heads, who receive 36 subsistence minimums calculated on the basis of the full PM.
Calls to equalize salaries
Earlier, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko appealed to MPs to fulfill their promise and ensure a fair increase in prosecutors’ salaries. His arguments are also supported by the prosecutors’ trade union, as discrimination based on the body in which a lawyer works is unacceptable.
