Ukraine's leading anti-corruption agencies said they were investigating alleged vote-buying by members of parliament, and that security services were hindering efforts to conduct searches.
The probe, announced December 27, was the latest in a series of investigations by the two agencies -- the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine -- that have roiled politics inside Ukraine.
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office -- known as SAPO -- said that its investigators had allegedly identified "an organized criminal group" that included current lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament.
The group members, SAPO said, received illegal benefits in exchange for their votes in parliament.
No further details were released.
Relatedly, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, known as NABU, said its investigators were being blocked from accessing administrative buildings used by members of parliament.
The agency charged with providing security for lawmakers, the State Protection Agency, denied the accusations, telling RFE/RL that guards were merely verifying the identities of the investigators.
"The fact is that NABU employees are trying to bring unfamiliar or incomprehensible people into the territory of the regime, into the territory of the government entity," service spokesman Oleksiy Morozov said.
The investigators were later allowed into the heavily guarded compound, the security agency said in a post to Facebook.
Established in 2015 as part of sweeping reforms aimed at uprooting entrenched corruption, the two agencies have built a reputation for conducting politically charged investigations -- as well as fighting to preserve their independence from other law enforcement entities.
An investigation into energy sector kickbacks -- including financing air-defense systems for electricity grid infrastructure -- burst into public view last month when anti-corruption officers raided offices in Kyiv.
That probe, which is still ongoing, ultimately led to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firing Andriy Yermak, his longtime chief of staff and a key go-between in peace negotiations with the United States.
Yermak's dismissal came at a difficult time for Zelenskyy. The allegations have tarnished his reputation at home, and added to pressure to hold new elections, something the Ukrainian president has resisted due to martial law and Russia's all-out war on Ukraine.
