NABU and SAPO energy probe will test if anyone is truly untouchable in wartime - MP Friz
The operation of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) to expose corruption in the energy sector is a test of whether there really are 'no untouchables' during war, Member of Parliament Iryna Friz, a member of Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence (European Solidarity faction), has said.
"The operation of the NABU and SAPO in the Mindych-Halushchenko-Energoatom case is a test of whether the principle of 'no one is untouchable' really applies in a country during wartime, even if they are part of the group of the so-called 5-6 managers of the president. We see data announced by anti-corruption agencies about hundreds of hours of recordings, millions of dollars and the influence of private intermediaries on strategic state companies. I emphasize - during the war! Isn't this money in blood? Wasn't it because of the participation of the highest top officials in dirty deals that an attack was made on the independence of anti-corruption agencies in the summer?" Friz told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
According to the MP, in this context, the appearance in the materials of the names of current or former ministers, in particular Halushchenko (Minister of Justice since July 17, 2025, until now headed the Ministry of Energy since April 29, 2021 — IF-U) and Svitlana Hrynchuk (Minister of Energy since July 17, 2025, headed the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources from 2024 to 2025 — IF-U) requires not weak explanations from the authorities and not political protection of those involved, but the fastest and most transparent procedural actions. Friz emphasized that society must know the truth so as not to completely lose trust in the state. According to Friz, society has already lost trust in the authorities, "but losing trust in the state during war is not a risk, it is a direct threat to our future."
"The key now is the complete independence of NABU and SAPO, the absence of any pressure from the President's Office, security forces or the government, a public explanation of the scale of the scheme and the personal responsibility of each person involved. I am sure that independent investigations are not an attack on the state, as the authorities will try to portray it on media resources, but a way to protect it from internal parasites," Friz said.
She added that until the moment of the announcement of suspicions, there is a presumption of innocence, but all persons involved at the highest level should be immediately removed from their positions for the duration of the investigation, since political responsibility comes before the court verdict.
"If it is confirmed that pro-government business groups influenced the distribution of financial flows in a critical industry during the deadly war, this should not end with removal from office, but with the inevitability of punishment, that is, real sentences without any preconditions, "quiet trips into the forest," etc. Otherwise, this could lead to irreversible events for both the authorities and the state," Friz said.