Uglava recorded conversations with NABU head: new details of the ‘leak’ scandal
29 August 2024 09:36
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has held the final meeting of the disciplinary commission on the case of Gizo Uglava, the first deputy director of NABU, who was suspended from his duties for the duration of the investigation into the alleged information leak. According to Zn.ua’s sources, most members of the commission found Uglava guilty of exerting pressure on his subordinates, the "Komersant Ukrainian"
The commission, which consisted of three NABU representatives and two representatives of the NABU Public Control Council, considered an internal investigation into Uglava’s pressure on his subordinates. At the same time, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) is conducting a criminal case on information leaks to the NABU.
According to Zn.ua’s sources, an interesting incident occurred during the case: Uglava played an unauthorised audio recording of his conversation with NABU head Semen Kryvonos.
“At the penultimate meeting of the commission, Uglava came with a lawyer and showed a recording of a conversation with Semen Kryvonos, who allegedly told him that he believed Uglava was innocent, but that since he was under strong pressure from anti-corruption NGOs and international organisations, he would be forced to fire him,”
– the source said.
This unauthorised recording was an attempt by Uglava to protect himself and compromise the NABU director.
Despite this, most members of the commission voted to find Uglava guilty. However, the members of the commission disagreed on recommendations for further action. In the near future, the commission will provide its written official opinion on Uglava’s offences.
However, the final decision on the measure of disciplinary sanction, which may even include dismissal, remains with NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. Earlier, he reported that he had signed the result of the disciplinary proceedings in this case and submitted it to the disciplinary commission.
As reported by Kommersant Ukrayinsky
, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau are writing massive reports on their management.
The sources of Kommersant Ukrayinsky claim that NABU detectives report, in particular, on the First Deputy Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Gizo Uglava, on cases of interference in the work of detectives, unspoken instructions, information leaks, etc.
The detectives became more active after the scandal of information leakage in a high-profile case.
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What is known about the “information leak” in the NABU
on 22 May, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office conducted searches at the home of a NABU employee suspected of abuse of office.
The media reported that the searches were conducted as part of a criminal investigation into the ‘big construction’ case.
As the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office explained earlier, one and a half billion hryvnias disappeared during the Big Construction project. The case involves the former head of the Dnipro Regional State Administration Valentyn Reznichenko and his partner, the current consultant to the Prosecutor General’s Office Yurii Holyk.
It should be noted that the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau has suspended his first deputy, Gizo Uglava, to ensure an “objective pre-trial investigation” launched over the alleged leak.
The anti-corruption agencies promised to publish the results of the investigation.
What is known about Gizo Uglava
Gizo Uglava worked at the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia from 1998 to 2012. During this period, he received three state awards: The Medal of Honour, the Order of Honour and the Order of the Shining.
In 2015, Uglava was granted Ukrainian citizenship and became the first deputy director of the new anti-corruption body, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). In April 2022, he began acting as NABU director due to the absence of a permanent head. In March 2023, Semen Kryvonos was appointed NABU Director.
In 2017, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine opened a case against Uglava to find out whether he had Georgian citizenship at the time of his appointment to a public office in Ukraine. The NABU stated that the proceedings were a form of pressure on the organisation and explained that Uglava automatically lost his Georgian citizenship when he received Ukrainian citizenship.
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