SAPO: For the first time in six months, the Ministry of Defense has asked NABU to analyze corruption risks in the defense sector

For the first time in the last six months, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has asked the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) to analyze corruption risks in the defense sector.

This was stated by the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO) Oleksandr Klymenko at a joint briefing with the director of NABU Semen Kryvonos.

"Over the past six months, the Ministry has for the first time turned to NABU to provide them with a risk analysis of possible corruption in the defense sector. They [NABU] provided them with such an analysis. But only in symbiosis, when the Ministry also takes measures for this, can this corruption be reduced," said Klymenko.

According to Klymenko, anti-corruption agencies can investigate specific corruption cases, but to systematically overcome the problem, administrative decisions of the Ministry of Defense and changes in the procurement system itself are needed. The agencies do not have enough detectives and prosecutors to process such a number of cases, so overcoming corruption is possible only in symbiosis with other state institutions, the head of SAPO added.

Klymenko admitted that corruption exists in the defense sector, in particular, it concerns kickbacks during the procurement of drones.

"A company cannot win without a setback. To do this, it is necessary to introduce an administrative resource, that is, transparent competitions and transparent procurement, so that the company that offers high-quality and cheaper goods wins," the head of the SAPO noted.

The NABU Chairman Semen Kryvonos added that defense is one of the highest priorities for NABU and SAPO, and the most resources are directed to investigating corruption in this area — because it directly undermines Ukraineʼs defense capabilities.

Among the risks, Kryvonos named, in particular, collusion during procurement, the destruction of competition, and the hidden participation of influential officials in arms supplier companies.

"At first glance, this may look like an ordinary huge contract. But the question is how this contract was obtained, and that in fact, thanks to such a policy, competition was destroyed. And this is very difficult to investigate and prove," the head of NABU added.

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