The incident comes as Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies widened a probe into an alleged bribery scheme involving members of the Verkhovna Rada, the country’s parliament.
Earlier on Saturday, NABU and SAP said they had uncovered an organized criminal group that included sitting lawmakers who allegedly received illicit payments in exchange for voting in favor of certain parliamentary decisions. Investigators said the scheme operated systematically and may have involved additional intermediaries.
Authorities have not disclosed the identities of the lawmakers under investigation, saying further information would be released after investigative actions are completed. Prosecutors are examining multiple voting episodes and potential illicit benefits, with each case to be assessed under Ukrainian law.
NABU, established after Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan uprising, is seen by Kyiv’s Western partners as a central pillar of the country’s anti-corruption framework. Any obstruction of its work is likely to draw scrutiny at a time when Ukraine is seeking to demonstrate progress on rule-of-law reforms alongside its bid for EU integration.
