Ukraine Anti-Graft Investigator Detained Over Russia Links
The head of a local office of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in the eastern city of Dnipro was detained as part of the sweep carried out without court orders, the bureau known as NABU said in a post on Telegram.
The man identified as Ruslan Magamedrasulov was assisting his father in selling industrial hemp to Russia, Ukraine's security services and the prosecutor general's office said in a statement, adding that they were investigating whether he also traded secret information with Russia's special services. NABU said it was studying the situation and would provide details later.
The raid is likely to throw a spotlight on Ukraine's commitment to root out corruption, which Kyiv has been trying to address since pro-European protests in 2014. NABU was set up at the demand of Ukraine's donors a decade ago to investigate graft among top officials. Its work has been praised and supported by Kyiv's allies, but the bureau has faced attempts to weaken its position.
In June NABU named former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov a suspect in a corruption probe, making him the highest-level official in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government to be subject to a graft investigation. Chernyshov denied any wrongdoing.
This month, Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation accused Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a civil society organization, of evading military service, raising concerns of possible political revenge.
The raid came as Russia unleashed a renewed attack on Ukraine, targeting the country's central and western regions with drones and missiles as Kyiv's allies pledged increased air defenses to help shield the war-ravaged nation.
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