Claims against the anti-corruption community itself have once again surfaced in Ukraine's public discourse. Political expert Oleh Posternak stated in a Facebook post that representatives of organizations publicly advocating for the transparency of state finances are themselves using tax optimization mechanisms and, according to him, failing to fulfill some tax obligations. In his assessment, this indicates that "Ukraine's official and unofficial anti-corruption sector has long been in a deep integrity crisis." This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the expert's post.
"The New Caste": The Essence of the Claims
Posternak's central argument is that anti-corruption fighters have, in his formulation, turned into a "new caste" that demands transparency from officials while itself employing dubious tax minimization schemes, as he claims. The expert emphasizes that activists hold seminars, participate in broadcasts and author programs with exposés, but at the same time, according to him, underpay funds to the state. He calls this proof of "the superiority and isolation of the anti-corruption caste" and the demonstration of double standards.
The Scheme with 199 FOPs: Hetmantsev's Data
As a specific example, Posternak refers to information from Member of Parliament Danylo Hetmantsev. According to Hetmantsev, employees of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), receiving grant funding from international donors, transfer funds to the accounts of 199 individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) under the simplified taxation system. According to Posternak's estimation, such a practice, based on Hetmantsev's data, has been used since September 2022. The expert interprets this as the use of tax optimization mechanisms within an organization that publicly opposes corruption.
The Military Levy: The Main Argument
The expert dwelt separately on the issue of paying the military levy. He claims that representatives of the anti-corruption community who publicly declare their support for the army do not pay this levy at the same time. "And what is most cynical is that these same 'activists', while talking about supporting the army, do not pay the military levy either," Posternak wrote. He presents this specific argument as the sharpest contradiction between public rhetoric and, as he says, real actions.
Integrity Crisis and the Rule of Law
Summarizing, Posternak connects the described situation with a broader "integrity crisis" in the Ukrainian anti-corruption environment and raises the issue of the uniform application of legislation to everyone. "We need to get rid of the caste of corrupt officials and anti-corruption activists, and restore the supremacy and universal binding nature of the law; otherwise, it will be very difficult for our society to withstand the challenges of war," the expert summarized. At the same time, he emphasized that "caste-based systems" are not inherent to Ukrainian society.
It should be noted that the aforementioned allegations regarding FOP schemes and non-payment of the military levy are assessments and statements by a political expert based on information from a Member of Parliament; the provided materials do not contain an official commentary from the organization itself or verified independent data on the stated facts.
