The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) accused several deputies on Saturday of taking bribes in exchange for their votes in the Supreme Rada and attempted to raid parliamentary headquarters in Kiev, reports AFP and Ukrainska Pravda.
NABU reported in a message sent via the Telegram messaging app that it had “uncovered an organized criminal group, including current members of parliament,” who “systematically received illegal benefits to vote in the Supreme Rada”.
According to NABU, its investigators tried on Saturday morning to raid the parliamentary committee headquarters, but were prevented by security forces. “Obstructing investigative actions constitutes a direct violation of the law,” NABU warned. Independent journalist Kirilo Amurskî told French station BFMTV that NABU investigators eventually managed to enter the parliamentary headquarters. The State Security Department clarified that it did not oppose the raid on the parliamentary headquarters, but the procedure required, under martial law, a thorough check of all persons brought by investigators as witnesses.
NABU did not specify whether it made arrests in this new corruption scandal, which emerged immediately after Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski left for Florida to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday.
The previous corruption scandal, related to the embezzlement of nearly 100 million dollars in the energy sector, led to the resignation of two ministers and the head of the Presidential Administration Office, Andrii Iermak. Corruption is endemic in both Russia and Ukraine, and Ukrainian society hopes to eradicate this scourge by moving closer to the European Union and NATO.