Vitaliy Shabunin, head of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), has published his first public statement following searches conducted against him. In a post shared by his team, he harshly criticized the authorities, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of making “early but confident steps toward corrupt authoritarianism.”
“Using the war as cover, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making the first but confident moves toward corrupt authoritarianism,” the statement reads.
Shabunin cited the recent bill proposed by 123 MPs from the presidential Servant of the People party, which would have granted amnesty for corruption in arms procurement—a measure he says was blocked only due to public backlash. He claims the government is now preparing a new version of the bill that would be controlled by the Security Service (SBU) and the Prosecutor General’s Office, though it would apply to a narrower circle of “their own people.”
Another example he gave was the government’s refusal to appoint the winner of the public competition as director of the Bureau of Economic Security. According to Shabunin, the Cabinet of Ministers blatantly violated the law by ignoring the competition’s outcome, demonstrating that “the president’s word outweighs Article 19 of the Constitution,” which requires authorities to act strictly within the law.
He also addressed the criminal case opened against him, calling it an intimidation tactic against critics and whistleblowers. “Chase them down. Intimidate them. Make an example of a few to show everyone that they can do anything they want to anyone,” he wrote.
Shabunin described the search, which lasted 15 hours—from 2 p.m. on Friday until 5 a.m. on Saturday. He says he was handed the formal suspicion during the search and reported incidents with his mobile phone, claiming that an SBU officer ended up with it unlocked in his hands. He says the entire episode was captured on the investigators’ cameras.
“During the search, they handed me a suspicion that proposes to imprison me for 5–10 years for receiving an official salary of 225,000 hryvnias over six months (of which 40,000 went to mandatory taxes and fees),” he wrote.
Shabunin also said that his team has published a detailed analysis of the suspicion and what he calls the illegal actions of the State Bureau of Investigations and the Prosecutor’s Office. He thanked his AntAC team for staying calm and professional during the raid, and the lawyers who managed to get to him from Chuhuiv in the middle of the night.
He apologized to his wife and children, who returned to Ukraine from the United States in spring 2023, and expressed gratitude to everyone who offered support, including those critical of him but who, as he put it, “smell the stink of corrupt authoritarianism just as well.”
We will remind you that the day before, SBI employees reported their suspicions about the head of the Anti-Corruption Centre, Vitaliy Shabunin, who, according to the investigation, systematically evaded military service and used a vehicle intended for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine without legal grounds.
The SBI emphasised that the announcement of suspicion is in no way related to the activist’s professional activities.
According to the investigation, after being mobilised in 2022, Shabunin did not report for duty for a long time and, under the guise of ‘business trips,’ stayed in civilian institutions that were not part of the defence forces. There is also documented evidence that he received monthly financial support in the amount of over 50,000 hryvnias, despite his actual absence from the military unit.
“The investigation established that the suspect illegally used an off-road vehicle imported into Ukraine as humanitarian aid for the needs of the army — without proper registration and without legal grounds. The car was used for personal purposes, including for travelling around Kyiv,” the DBR said in a statement.