NABU head Kryvonos faces months-long smear campaign, AntAC warns
Semen Kryvonos (Photo: nabu.gov.ua)
National Anti‑Corruption Bureau (NABU)
Director Semen Kryvonos has been the target of a coordinated smear campaign and
could be dismissed, Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC) executive director
Daria Kaleniuk told NV Radio on March 30.
Kaleniuk noted the government’s recent attempt to fast‑track an audit of NABU. Under Ukrainian law, a negative audit finding is the only ground for the early dismissal of the bureau’s director, who serves a seven‑year term chosen by an independent commission.
“This could be part of an effort to remove current NABU Director Semen Kryvonos,” Kaleniuk said.
“He has been the subject of a major discrediting campaign in recent months on various, mostly anonymous Telegram channels. It likely continues what happened [last] summer — the swift passage by parliament of a bill that would strip the independence of anti‑corruption bodies and enable investigations of NABU detectives.”
She added that audits of independent bodies must be independent, but authorities often try to interfere and influence their conclusions.
On March 24, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Deputy PM Taras Kachka unexpectedly proposed a draft resolution to form a commission to carry out an independent audit of NABU, though the measure ultimately was not considered.
Internal media monitoring by anti‑corruption
bodies has also shown waves of coordinated discrediting campaigns against the
leadership of NABU and the Specialized Anti‑Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, apparently driven by pro‑government Telegram channels.
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