British Embassy Kyiv statement on NABU visit to London
Statement in response to allegations against Artem Sytnyk, head of Ukraine's National Anti Corruption Bureau.
The British Embassy is aware that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has opened an investigation into a recent visit to the UK by the head of the National Anti Corruption Bureau (NABU), Mr Artem Sytnyk, and others. It would be inappropriate to publicly comment in detail on an ongoing investigation. However, much of the associated media coverage has become misleading.
The visit to the UK by Mr Sytnyk and his party in July 2015 was part of the UK’s efforts to help the Ukrainian government and agencies tackle corruption at all levels in Ukraine. We currently support and fund a number of initiatives, including in support of the National Anti Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Mr Sytnyk’s visit was to demonstrate to key individuals the methodology and processes used in similar UK agencies which have been developed over many years. The visit programme was extremely busy and included a large number of presentations from various UK law enforcement and prosecuting agencies. British Embassy officials accompanied Mr Stynyk and his party on this visit. The UK covered the costs of Mr Sytnyk and the official party. Mr Stynyk reimbursed his wife’s costs.
The British Government remains firmly committed to supporting Ukraine and the National Anti Corruption Bureau to tackle corruption. Corruption damages Ukraine’s economy and undermines public trust in governmental institutions. We urge all with an interest in reducing corruption in Ukraine to focus their efforts on serious crime, corruption and asset recovery rather than seeking to protect the deeply corrupt practices which for many years have caused significant harm to the people of Ukraine.
The British Embassy is cooperating with the Prosecutor General’s Office to ensure this matter resolved at the earliest opportunity.