Analyst: “While NABU might have some flaws (what government body doesn't?), the Poroshenko administration needs to recognize that NABU enjoys more trust from the public, both domestically and abroad. Lutsenko seems to be starting to understand this to some extent when acknowledging corruption in the migration service.”
KYIV, Dec 1, 2017 - Officers with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), in cooperation with prosecutors of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, arrested on Nov. 29 an agent with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) during a special operation targeting the State Migration Service of Ukraine. SBU officers also conducted searches of the NABU offices that day, Concorde Capital added in its advisory to clients today. In the view of the migration service, the arrested NABU official was provoking its otherwise indignant official into accepting a bribe. According to the NABU leadership, SBU officers and prosecutors deliberately sabotaged a special operation that targeted corruption in the migration service. “The goal of the operation was to uncover a large criminal organization and uncover all the scheme’s participants,” a NABU spokesman said on Nov. 30. NABU Head Artem Sytnyk met with Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko for two hours on Nov. 30, after which Sytnyk said that Lutsenko wasn’t aware of the NABU special operation. Lutsenko acknowledged possible corruption among those targeted by the investigation, but also criticized NABU agents for lacking proper credentials to perform their work. Concorde analyst Zenon Zawada added: “The bottom line here is that the tension between NABU and Ukrainian law enforcement structures continues to escalate. This tension is positive in the sense that NABU is targeting previously immune state bodies, like the migration service. But the ongoing resistance from the Prosecutor General and SBU – both loyal to President Poroshenko – is disappointing and continues to harm the government’s image among Western officials. “While NABU might have some flaws (what government body doesn't?), the Poroshenko administration needs to recognize that NABU enjoys more trust from the public, both domestically and abroad. Lutsenko seems to be starting to understand this to some extent when acknowledging corruption in the migration service.” ### For more information, link here: www.concorde.ua
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