NABU Deputy Director Gizo Uglava suspended after information leak scandal
24 May 2024 17:16
The director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau has dismissed his first deputy, Gizo Uglava, to ensure an “objective pre-trial investigation” launched over an alleged information leak. This was reported by the NABU press service, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Gizo Uglava has been suspended from performing his duties and managing the areas and departments set out in internal documents.
“We emphasise that the management and staff of the Bureau are maximally interested in conducting a full, comprehensive and impartial investigation into this fact,”
– the NABU said in a statement.
on 22 May, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, together with the National Police, searched the home of a NABU employee. The SAPO reported that the NABU’s Internal Control Department was investigating a possible crime by the Bureau’s employees under Articles 364 and 387 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The relevant proceedings were initiated after a memo from a whistleblower, an NABU employee.
As UP previously reported, the data was disclosed by NABU representatives in the interests of businessman Yuriy Holyk, who is a defendant in the anti-corruption investigation into “large-scale construction”.
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 Star.
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 obtained Ukrainian citizenship.
