(Bloomberg) — The head of Ukraine’s anti-graft agency was summoned to parliament but failed to show up after lawmakers tried to question him about possible leaks of confidential information to people under investigation.
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Semen Kryvonos, the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, did not meet with members of a committee on Thursday and said before he was expected in parliament that an investigation into possible leaks had been launched.
“Efforts should not be focused on the political process, but on conducting effective detective work and investigations to achieve quick and fair results,” Kryvonos said on Facebook.
The agency, known as NABU, is part of Ukraine’s anti-graft infrastructure and was created at the request of Kiev’s foreign donors to combat corruption in the country, which has now been fending off Russian invasion for more than two years.
Ahead of the anti-graft chief’s scheduled meeting with lawmakers, media outlet Ukrayinska Pravda also reported on Thursday that investigators from his agency had not conducted a court-ordered search of the home of Oleksiy Chernyshov, who is now the state’s CEO. run energy company Naftogaz Ukraine.
A representative of Chernyshov said he denied any wrongdoing and said the only topic he had discussed with Kryvonos was aimed at increasing Naftogaz’s transparency. Chernyshov wanted to sign a memorandum with Kryvonos so that NABU could vet candidates for vacancies at the energy company, his representative said.
Polina Lysenko, deputy head of NABU, did not respond to calls outside office hours.
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