The State Bureau of Investigation — the agency that investigates crimes of senior officials — has a manager who officially does not exist. Journalists from Bihus.Info identified Rostyslav Pekar as the deputy director of the SBI: he receives over 3 million hryvnias per year and drives a service Toyota Prado worth approximately $60,000. However, his name is absent from the agency's website, the NAPC declaration registry, and any official bureau reporting.
An Appointment Without Transparency
According to the investigation, Pekar assumed the position in 2025. An open competition — a mandatory procedure for appointing a deputy director of the SBI under the law — either was not conducted or information about it did not appear publicly. The Law "On the SBI" directly obligates the director to "ensure openness and transparency of the bureau's activities" — and the director signs the order appointing the deputy based on the recommendation of the competition commission. Without a competition — without legal grounds.
Declaration of property and income is mandatory for all persons holding senior positions in state bodies. The absence of Pekar's declaration in the NAPC registry is a separate violation that may be classified as deliberate evasion of financial control.
Three Million — What Does That Mean?
For comparison: 250,000 hryvnias per month — Pekar's approximate salary — is 10–12 times more than the average salary in Ukraine as of 2025. Deputy directors of the SBI in territorial departments officially earn from 2.3 million per year and file declarations publicly — their names, vehicles, and real estate are open for verification. Pekar, with greater authority in the central apparatus, remains outside this control.
"The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation is appointed to office by the President of Ukraine... his first deputy and deputy are appointed to and dismissed from office by the Director based on the recommendation of the Competition Commission".
Law of Ukraine "On the State Bureau of Investigation", Article 11
A Precedent with Consequences
This is not the first case of non-transparent personnel decisions at the SBI. Back in 2020, the competition for deputy directors was criticized for being conducted on extremely tight timelines — documents were accepted from December 30 to January 3, essentially between holidays. At that time, the winners were people with connections to the bureau's leadership. Now — the scheme has apparently been simplified: the competition is not visible publicly at all.
Pekar's absence from declarations means that neither his property, nor income outside his salary, nor possible conflicts of interest are checked by any anti-corruption body. The NABU and SAP currently have no jurisdiction over the SBI's deputy directors — these cases fall under the investigation of the bureau itself, which makes independent investigation impossible.
- Name on the SBI website: absent
- Declaration in the NAPC registry: absent
- Public competition: not recorded
- Salary: over 3 million hrn/year
- Service vehicle: Toyota Prado ~$60,000
The SBI is an agency that, under the law, investigates crimes of ministers, deputies, and senior officials. If its own deputy director can exist for years outside the declaration registry and without a public competition, the question is one: Will the NABU receive jurisdiction over the SBI leadership — or will this gap in jurisdiction remain an instrument for such appointments?
