NABU is becoming a “political weapon” — the Economist on corruption in Ukraine

The British magazine The Economist has published a piece on corruption at the highest levels of Ukrainian power, under the headline “While Ukraine is under bombardment, corruption and political chaos are flourishing in the country.”

At the center of the article is the detention of Kyrylo Budanov’s former deputy, Iryna Mudra. The magazine cites her quotes from NABU wiretaps, including her statement that corruption should not be fought — it should be “systematized and controlled.”

“Corruption is viewed not as an exceptional scandal but as a normal working process. These recordings could hardly have appeared at a worse time,” — the publication comments on the situation, mentioning the intensification of strikes and the conflict between Volodymyr Zelensky and Mykhailo Fedorov.

According to the article, with his call for elections the former minister “broke a taboo and underscored a widespread feeling among insiders in power circles that a reckoning is coming.”

One senior Ukrainian official told the magazine anonymously that NABU, SAP, and HACC “represent a parallel government.” Even sources close to NABU say the agency is “becoming increasingly politicized.” They link the publication of new audio recordings to the vote on the appointment of new Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara, which took place on the day the corruption scandal broke.

“The law gave them (the anti-corruption bodies) access to the most intimate moments of politics and people’s lives. The danger is that this is becoming a political weapon,” — a former detective from the anti-corruption bureau told the publication.

NABU’s new investigation also puts Budanov in an awkward position, the magazine notes.

One senior official told journalists that “once October comes, it will get colder, and everything will immediately go wrong; some of the key figures here are idiots, and many people understand that.” According to him, the president remains optimistic but is “beginning to understand” that the situation is deteriorating.