Ukrainian SAPO Say They’re Probing Vote-Buying Scheme By Lawmakers.

Kyiv; December 2025: Ukraine’s leading anti-corruption agencies said they were investigating alleged vote-buying by members of parliament, and that security services were hindering efforts to conduct searches.

The probe which have been announced on December 27th, is the latest in a series of investigations by the two agencies, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, that have roiled politics inside Ukraine.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said that its investigators had allegedly identified “an organised criminal group” that included current lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. The group members of SAPO has said, that lawmakers had received illegal benefits in exchange for their votes in parliament. However, no further details were released.

Relatedly, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), have said that its investigators were being blocked from accessing administrative buildings used by members of parliament. The agency charged with providing security for lawmakers, the State Protection Agency, denied the accusations, telling Reporters that guards were merely verifying the identities of the investigators.

“The fact is that NABU employees are trying to bring unfamiliar or incomprehensible people into the territory of the regime, into the territory of the government entity“, service spokesman Oleksiy Morozov said.

The investigators were later allowed into the heavily guarded compound, the security agency said in a post to Facebook.

Established in 2015 as part of sweeping reforms aimed at uprooting entrenched corruption, the two agencies have built a reputation for conducting politically charged investigations, as well as fighting to preserve their independence from other law enforcement entities. An investigation into energy sector kickbacks, including financing air-defence systems for electricity grid infrastructure, burst into public view last month when anti-corruption officers raided offices in Kyiv.

That probe, which is still ongoing, ultimately led to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firing Andriy Yermak, his long-time chief of staff and a key go-between in peace negotiations with the United States.

Yermak’s dismissal came at a difficult time for Zelenskyy. The allegations have tarnished his reputation at home, and added to pressure to hold new elections, something the Ukrainian president has resisted due to martial law and Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine.

As noted by NABU, obstructing investigative actions is a “direct violation of the law”.

On the otherside, Yulia Sirko, a member of the transport committee, told Media Reporters that NABU is conducting investigative actions in the parliamentary Committee on Transport and Infrastructure. She did not name the names of those involved in the case, and the searches are still ongoing.

Earlier, the publication “Dzerkalo Tyzhnia”, citing sources in law enforcement agencies , reported that NABU conducted a secret wiretap of Yuriy Kisel, a member of parliament from the “Servant of the People” party. He is the deputy head of the faction of the same name and the head of the transport committee of the Verkhovna Rada.

Earlier on November 10, NABU had announced the exposure of the activities of a criminal organisation, the main focus of which was “systematic receipt of illegal benefits from Energoatom’s counterparties in the amount of 10% to 15% of the value of contracts“. 08 people were reported as suspects in this case. Among them is businessman and co-founder of the Kvartal-95 studio Timur Mindich (codenamed “Carlson” on NABU tapes).

The National Security and Defense Council imposed sanctions on him. Timur Mindich told Ukrainska Pravda that the media made him an extremist and guilty person, although the facts are different. In an interview, the businessman, who left for Israel, refused to comment on the essence of the official charges brought against him in Ukraine, emphasizing that his lawyers are handling the case.

Team Maverick.