NABU: Prosecutor General's Office employee caught on $3.5 million bribe, PGO says it raises doubts

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced the exposure of a prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office and lawyers suspected of inciting a $3.5 million bribe. The PGO commented and noted that these actions raise doubts about their objectivity.

According to the NABU, the funds were allegedly intended for further transfer to the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court so that they could decide to close the criminal proceedings investigated by NABU detectives.

Investigators allege that between February 10 and September 18, 2025, the lawyers entered into a "criminal conspiracy" with the Prosecutor General's Office and offered the suspect in one of the NABU cases to "solve his issue." They were supposed to act as intermediaries in receiving and transferring a bribe, the amount of which increased from $2 million to $3.5 million during the negotiations.

The NABU noted that the money was planned to be transferred in installments. At the time of the exposure of the prosecutor and lawyers, they had managed to receive only $200,000.

The PGO stated that searches by NABU detectives were conducted at the homes of two prosecutors, one of whom is a member of the group investigating the facts of possible illegal activities of NABU detectives, in particular, the head of one of the interregional departments, Ruslan Magamedrasulov.

"By a strange coincidence, it is in the midst of this investigation that actions are taken against the prosecutor that raise reasonable doubts about their objectivity... In the morning, a search was conducted at his place of residence and workplace, which ended without result – no items or documents of procedural importance were seized," the PGO noted .

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the NABU ruling states that one of the PGO employees acted outside the scope of his official or procedural duties. The ruling does not specify the actions of the other employee, as well as his possible involvement in corruption offenses, and the grounds for the search.

"In this context, we see a risk of conflict of interest and selective use of investigative mechanisms by NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors. This raises serious questions about the true motives of the investigation and the impartiality of its participants," the prosecutors emphasized .

The PGO emphasized that it does not support any form of pressure on the process of politicization of criminal prosecution or "witch hunt" but is interested in objective establishment of the truth. The agency is waiting for the official submission of criminal proceedings from the NABU and the SAPO to conduct an internal audit.

If the suspicions are confirmed, the OGP promises to take appropriate measures against its employees.

• on July 21, the SBU and the PGO announced the exposure of NABU detective Magamedrasulov for doing business in Russia. According to the investigation, he has contacts with representatives of the Russian Federation and helps his father, an entrepreneur, to conduct illegal trade with the aggressor state.
• On August 22, the SBU announced new evidence of NABU official Magamedrasulov and his father's hemp trade with Russia. And on September 16, he received a new suspicion.
• On August 8, , the SBU responded to statements about the "groundlessness" of the suspicions against NABU detectives and pressure and called them an attempt to exert public pressure on representatives of the judiciary.
• On September 8, the SBU reported that a detained mole in the NABU had leaked data to Yanukovych's deputy security over 60 times. NABU responded that these events took place before he took office.