Ukrainians’ distrust of NACB, SACPO and HACC reaches 70% – Razumkov Center

The level of disappointment of Ukrainians in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NACB), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SACPO) and the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has crossed a psychological threshold: these anti-corruption bodies have a record level of distrust.

This is evidenced by the results of a sociological survey by the Razumkov Center.

Thus, according to published data, 62.3% of respondents do not trust the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, 61.6% do not trust the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, and almost 73% do not trust the judicial system, which includes the HACC.

Such a rapid decline in public trust in anti-corruption bodies may be due to a number of scandals surrounding them.

It was recently reported that a NACB representative was detained for manufacturing and selling drugs, and the Bureau’s leadership leaked investigation materials to suspects. It also became known that a NACB detective illegally crossed the border and fled to Romania.

The legal community also gives a negative assessment of the activities of the anti-corruption triangle.

In particular, political expert Oleh Posternak recently accused NACB detectives of forcing witnesses to a sexual intercourse. "The Bureau is degrading at an accelerated pace – it needs to be rebooted as soon as possible," he noted.

At the same time, Ukrainian lawyers accused judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court of carrying out the tasks of SACPO prosecutors and NACB detectives in exchange for the opportunity to enrich themselves by buying luxury real estate and expensive cars. According to Doctor of Law, Professor Mykola Melnyk, the High Anti-Corruption Court "turns a blind eye" to obvious violations of the law by other participants in the anti-corruption bloc – the NACB and the SACPO. This negatively affects the decisions of the High Anti-Corruption Court, which is interested in playing along with the prosecution.

According to journalist Yurii Nikolov, "The NACB's goal is not to fight corruption, but to boast about indicators that border on "ticketing" the figures involved."

"This is when your case is ruined along the way, or they give you the opportunity to conclude a "sin-pay-and-sin-further" deal. And you don't thank me in return. The NACB has stupidly forgotten how to work and lost its predatory instinct, becoming a kind of district department where they chase flies and count fines for old ladies for trading in underground passes," Nikolov wrote.

The sociological survey was conducted face-to-face by the sociological service of the Razumkov Center from February 28 to March 6, 2025 in the territories controlled by the government of Ukraine and where there are no hostilities. The survey was conducted using a stratified multi-stage sample. The sample structure reflects the demographic structure of the adult population of the territories where the survey was conducted as of the beginning of 2022 (by age, gender, type of settlement). 2,018 respondents aged 18 and over were surveyed. The theoretical sampling error does not exceed 2.3%.

To request a correction, please send an email.