State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)

This body is subject to the same persons as NABU and SAP – high-ranking officials, persons who have committed war crimes, law enforcement officers and the same employees of anti-corruption bodies. Roughly speaking, this department is like the American FBI.

What does the SBI do?

• the fight against organized crime, terrorism and murder, as well as the investigation of cases of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers – the police, the prosecutor’s office, the SBU and the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
• war crimes, which were previously the responsibility of the military prosecutor’s office, are now under the competence of the SBI.
• investigate criminal proceedings against the same officials as NABU, but under different articles. NABU investigates crimes under thirteen articles of the Criminal Code, other articles are investigated by the SBI. Simply put, when a drunk judge gets behind the wheel, it’s a matter for the SBI. If a judge killed a person, the SBI investigates it. If the judge took a bribe, this is the responsibility of the bureau. If the judge violated traffic rules, that is a matter for the National Police.

High-profile cases of the SBI: 

• The case of businessman Ihor Mazepa. He was accused of illegally taking over the lands of the water fund near Kyiv, on which the businessman’s companies have been building cottage towns under different names since 2012.
• The SBI detained a former high-ranking official of the Armed Forces: he is suspected of illegal enrichment of almost UAH 58 million.
• Investigation of Maidan cases. Yanukovych and the entire power block of the time will appear before the court for the execution of the “Heavenly Hundred”.