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The National Anti-Corruption Bureau exposed employees of the Security Service of Ukraine on bribery charges.
According to investigators, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) reported the exposure of the head of the investigative department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Poltava region. The officer and his subordinate were detained while allegedly receiving a bribe, NABU said.
“According to the investigation, the officials, through an intermediary — a lawyer — demanded $110,000 from a businessman for concluding a plea agreement and terminating criminal prosecution of his company,” the statement reads.
It is noted that the suspects were caught red-handed while receiving the second installment of $55,000.
Previously, it was reported that the SBU detained a NABU employee in Sumy, who was released the next day.
It should be noted that NABU and the SBU have been in tension following events in July 2025, when the SBU detained several NABU employees, accusing them of working for Russian intelligence services. Those detentions preceded legislative initiatives aimed at reducing the powers of NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). A law subordinating them to the Prosecutor General was adopted the next day, but amid public pressure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a bill reversing the decision and restoring the institutional independence of anti-corruption bodies.
In August last year, SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko stated in an interview that pressure had been applied to some individuals to make them testify about alleged Russian influence within NABU. After searches of bureau employees, investigations temporarily slowed down as many became more cautious.