Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency believes the energy industry is the most corrupt economic sector
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) indicated that energy enterprises are the most corrupt branch of Ukraine’s economy.
"Eighteen months of investigations by the NABU have shown that corruption within the energy industry enterprises is the largest among all spheres of the state economy. This is due to the uniqueness of the enterprises, the number of people involved in corrupt schemes, and the amount of losses. According to preliminary estimates, the total amount of damages caused by crimes related to the activities of energy companies is 11.18 billion hryvnia," as reported by the NABU on Thursday, August 17th.
Currently, the Bureau, through the courts, is trying to invalidate contracts with energy enterprises worth almost 1 billion hryvnia ($38 million USD) in total.
The work of NABU detectives and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office employees regarding the disclosure of the damage inflicted by energy industry enterprises has borne fruit. As a result, the court has already issued nine convictions for 10 people. Another 16 cases against 22 defendants are in the courts at the moment.
As of now, NABU detectives are investigating 400 cases, more than 100 of them concern corruption by state enterprises.