Ukraine anti-corruption agency blocked during probe into MPs bribery scheme

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on Saturday that state security officers had obstructed its detectives during investigative actions linked to a corruption probe involving sitting members of parliament.

In a statement published on its official Telegram channel, NABU said that “employees of the State Protection Directorate are resisting NABU detectives during investigative actions,” adding that “access for detectives is being restricted.” The bureau stressed that “obstructing investigative actions is a direct violation of the law.”

NABU said its detectives were acting within the framework of an ongoing criminal investigation overseen by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP). It did not specify which officials ordered the restrictions or how long the obstruction lasted.

The incident comes as Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies widened a probe into an alleged bribery scheme involving members of the Verkhovna Rada, the country’s parliament. 

Earlier on Saturday, NABU and SAP said they had uncovered an organized criminal group that included sitting lawmakers who allegedly received illicit payments in exchange for voting in favor of certain parliamentary decisions. Investigators said the scheme operated systematically and may have involved additional intermediaries.

Authorities have not disclosed the identities of the lawmakers under investigation, saying further information would be released after investigative actions are completed. Prosecutors are examining multiple voting episodes and potential illicit benefits, with each case to be assessed under Ukrainian law.

NABU, established after Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan uprising, is seen by Kyiv’s Western partners as a central pillar of the country’s anti-corruption framework. Any obstruction of its work is likely to draw scrutiny at a time when Ukraine is seeking to demonstrate progress on rule-of-law reforms alongside its bid for EU integration.