On Monday, July 21, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General’s Office conducted around 70 searches involving employees of NABU – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
NABU emphasizes that these investigative actions are being carried out without court warrants, while the SBU and the Prosecutor’s Office suspect one of NABU’s top officials of aiding Russia.
NV reports on what is happening around NABU today and continues to follow the developments.
The SBU and Prosecutor General’s Office’s Version of Russian Influence on NABU:
On Monday morning, the SBU and the Prosecutor General’s Office announced that they had exposed and detained Ruslan Magamedrasulov – one of the heads of NABU’s interregional detective departments – on suspicion of “doing business in Russia.” According to these two law enforcement agencies, this NABU official allegedly “maintains contacts with representatives of Russia and helps his businessman father conduct illegal trade with the Russian Federation.”
It is claimed that Magamedrasulov acted as a middleman “in the sale of his father’s batches of industrial hemp” to Russia’s Dagestan. Additionally, his father holds Russian citizenship, which Magamedrasulov allegedly failed to disclose. The SBU and the Prosecutor’s Office are also investigating information “regarding Magamedrasulov’s contacts with Russian intelligence services and the transfer of classified information to them, including details about planned investigative actions.”
They further claim that the detainee was supposed to coordinate NABU’s operations in frontline regions (Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia) from Dnipro, “but instead spent most of his time in Kyiv and recently vacationed for several weeks on the Canary Islands (Tenerife).”
As part of this case, a series of searches were conducted today among NABU employees. To support their version of events, the SBU released excerpts of Magamedrasulov’s conversations, as well as conversations involving his parents.
In addition, investigators believe that the detained Magamedrasulov “was in close contact” with fugitive MP and member of the banned Opposition Platform — For Life (OPZZh) party, Fedir Khrystenko. On the same day, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced that Khrystenko had been charged in absentia with high treason, committed by a group of individuals acting in collusion during martial law, as well as with influence peddling.
The SBU and the Prosecutor’s Office refer to Khrystenko as a resident (senior agent) of Russia’s FSB and claim that he “worked to strengthen Russian influence over NABU.” According to the allegations, the FSB recruited the MP back during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency, and he “actively carried out tasks for the Russian intelligence agency during the Revolution of Dignity.”
Investigators state that Khrystenko established close ties with certain NABU officials, allegedly including Magamedrasulov. They also claim to have evidence of Khrystenko’s “close contacts” with former MP Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, who is described as a Russian intelligence resident in occupied Donetsk (“DPR”), as well as with the now-deceased collaborator Armen Sarkisyan.
State Bureau of Investigation’s suspicions against NABU employees: On the same day, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) announced that it had notified three NABU employees of suspicion “for committing traffic accidents that resulted in serious injuries to the victims.” The reported incidents took place on unspecified dates — two pedestrian hit-and-runs in Kyiv and one accident on the Kyiv–Odesa highway that occurred during an overtaking maneuver. “If the guilt of the law enforcement officers in committing these serious crimes is proven, they face up to 8 years of imprisonment,” the SBI stated. The suspects are to have preventive measures imposed; in the case of two of them, the prosecution is seeking pre-trial detention.
NABU’s version of the events surrounding the Bureau: NABU officially stated that the SBU, the SBI, and the Prosecutor General’s Office conducted at least 70 searches involving 15 NABU employees. The Bureau added that these searches were carried out without court warrants and concerned both the involvement of NABU employees in traffic accidents and their “possible connections with the aggressor state.” “These facts are not interconnected,” NABU emphasized. They also noted that the SBU had launched an “unscheduled inspection of the handling of state secrets.” This procedure concerns NABU staff who have access to classified information and conduct covert investigative actions. NABU warned that such steps could lead to the disclosure of information that might compromise ongoing and planned operational activities and investigations conducted by NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). In addition, a review by the State Special Communications Service is underway, “which covers NABU’s technical infrastructure.” Amid these developments, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos decided to interrupt his official visit to the United Kingdom and return to Ukraine. “The risk of agents of influence from the aggressor state remains relevant for any government body. However, this cannot be grounds for halting the work of the entire institution,” NABU emphasized.
Searches and suspicions involving NABU employees: What’s happening
15:18 – The SBU and the Prosecutor General’s Office announced the detention of an FSB “mole” within NABU, allegedly overseen by a former deputy head of Yanukovych’s security team
The SBU claims that the individual in question is an employee of NABU’s Central Office, “working in the elite, closed D-2 division, who was spying for the Russian intelligence service.”
According to the investigation, the agent’s subversive activities were coordinated by traitor Dmytro Ivantsov — a former deputy chief of Yanukovych’s security, who helped the fugitive president flee to Russia in February 2014. Ivantsov himself remained in Crimea, joined the occupying forces, and was later recruited by the FSB.
15:12 – The SBU releases its version regarding the state secrets inspection at SAPO
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that it had launched a “comprehensive inspection of compliance with state secrets legislation within the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).”
The SBU rejected SAPO’s statements and emphasized that Security Service officers “did not gain access to all covert and operational measures or special operations conducted by NABU and SAPO.” The SBU insists that its inspection “does not involve reviewing the full contents of such documents” and maintains that its actions are lawful.
Furthermore, the SBU accused NABU and SAPO of making “baseless and manipulative” statements about the inspection.
The SBU also stressed that it does not consider conducting its actions without a court warrant to be a violation of the law — stating that this is permissible “in cases where obtaining such warrants could lead to information leaks and, in particular, hinder the conduct of special operations.”
15:05 – SAPO reports state secrets inspection and accuses the SBU of violating procedure
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) stated that on the morning of July 21, the SBU arrived “without the official notice required by current legislation” to conduct an inspection concerning compliance with state secrets legislation.
“The inspection was initiated at a time when the leadership of both NABU and SAPO is on an official foreign trip,” SAPO emphasized.
They also explained that during the inspection, SBU officers “gained access to information about all covert and operational activities, as well as special operations conducted by NABU and SAPO.”
The anti-corruption prosecutor’s office warns that these actions “could lead to the exposure of information related to covert investigative measures within numerous criminal proceedings currently being investigated by NABU and SAPO.”
14:40 — BBC reminds of the “long-standing conflict” between NABU and SBU
BBC Ukraine recalls that relations between NABU and the SBU were tense in 2017–2018, even escalating to physical confrontations.
In 2017, representatives of NABU — established to fight corruption — repeatedly hinted at political pressure.
This followed high-profile arrests, including Roman Nasirov, head of the State Fiscal Service; influential MP Mykola Martynenko; and the uncovering by an undercover NABU agent of a corruption scheme in amber mining.
After the arrest of the son of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, NABU head Artem Sytnyk openly spoke about political pressure on the bureau and an information campaign against it in the media.
The conflict was resolved at that time after intervention by Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko. However, the tension between these agencies has not fully disappeared, BBC concludes.
Yuriy Nikolov, editor of the project Nashi Hroshi, explained on Radio NV what might be behind the “blow to NABU.”
13:45 – Statement from the State Bureau of Investigation on suspicions against NABU employees for causing traffic accidents.
11:40 – 70 searches conducted; during one, physical force was used against a NABU detective — NABU’s official version of events on July 12.
10:00 – Details from the SBU and Prosecutor General’s Office about the detention of one of NABU’s detective chiefs.
Tags: nabu
