(Reuters) – The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said on Tuesday it had dismissed its first deputy over a suspected leak case inside the body that spearheads efforts by the European Union candidate nation to tackle graft.
The NABU said on the Telegram messaging app that its disciplinary commission found that the deputy had committed actions “aimed at personally and professionally discrediting an employee of the bureau who submitted a note about possible facts of information leakage”.
The agency provided no further details and did not name the person. Gizo Uglava is listed on its website as holding the post and he posted a statement on Facebook denying any wrongdoing.
“The next steps in proving my innocence in the cases against me will be to go to court,” Uglava said.
Anastasia Radina, the head of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee, said on Facebook the official had been dismissed for putting pressure on a whistleblower who had reported a possible leakage of information.
A law enforcement source said in May that the leak had compromised a high-profile investigation into a road-building project involving government money.
Rooting out official corruption is one of the key conditions for Ukraine as it pursues EU membership. Opinion polls show Ukrainians, wearied by more than 2/1-2 years of war against Russia, have ever less tolerance for impunity among state officials.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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