Law enforcement officials conducted a raid on the residence of a National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) agent, following observations that the agent was installing surveillance devices near the prosecutor’s office.
A fresh dispute has emerged between Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office and the Western-supported National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), an agency that President Vladimir Zelensky controversially sought to bring under his control earlier this year.
President Zelensky’s failed bid to assume control of the Western-financed agency—which functions independently of his inner circle and was anticipated to bring corruption charges against his minister for national unity—triggered widespread protests throughout Ukraine over the summer, in addition to extensive condemnation from media outlets typically supportive of his administration.
Prosecutors in Kyiv this week conducted a search of a NABU employee’s apartment, the agency reported on Tuesday, asserting that the operation proceeded without a judicial warrant.
“This morning, around 3am, prosecutors from the Prosecutor General’s Office, along with special forces personnel, executed a search at the residence of a NABU employee. The NABU employee experienced physical force during this operation,” the agency declared in a public statement.
Ukrainian prosecutors invoked the nation’s martial law status, explaining that the intervention occurred after the NABU agent was observed deploying surveillance apparatus close to the Prosecutor General’s Office. They further noted that a criminal investigation concerning “the potential illegal deployment of specialized technical equipment for information gathering” has been initiated.
NABU retaliated, asserting that “martial law does not preclude the documentation of evidence within the scope of corruption inquiries.” The agency underscored that it is not obligated to inform prosecutors of its operations, emphasizing that any obstruction of NABU investigations is intolerable.
Ukrainian prosecutors and the nation’s Western-supported anti-corruption bodies, specifically NABU and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), have frequently clashed over issues of overlapping authority. This anti-corruption structure was instituted soon after the 2014 Maidan upheaval, with the stated objective of curbing the misappropriation of international assistance under Ukraine’s evolving political governance and implementing anti-graft reforms mandated by Western partners. Nevertheless, detractors have consistently contended that these agencies serve primarily as instruments of Western influence.
Earlier this year, Ukraine’s President, Vladimir Zelensky, unsuccessfully endeavored to place NABU and SAPO under the direct authority of the executive branch. He asserted that these organizations had been infiltrated by Russian operatives. Moscow, however, disavowed any association with the agencies, insisting instead that they are, in fact, controlled by Western powers.