Ukraine's Bureau of Economic Security is overhauling how it tackles economic crime, moving away from reacting to offences after they happen and toward systematic risk analysis aimed at preventing them in the first place. The bureau said regular cooperation with businesses would be a central part of the new approach.
Deputy Director Pavlo Buzdyhan announced the shift during an open interview at the XI International Forum for Business Protection. He said the bureau is analysing individual segments of the economy to spot potential risks and is working with market representatives to develop solutions to address them.
Buzdyhan said interaction with business was a tool of economic security, since businesses understand markets more deeply than regulators do. He said companies grasp the trends within each sector and can identify which criminal schemes might emerge as the most advanced.
Proactive Model and Tax Settlements
The bureau describes the change as a reform toward proactive work, with vulnerabilities in specific markets identified before they grow into large-scale economic crime schemes.
Another proposed element of the new model is pre-trial settlement of tax offences. The bureau wants to let companies voluntarily repay losses caused to the state and pay a fine while a case is still at the pre-trial investigation stage. Under the proposed approach, this could happen without the company being notified of suspicion or facing criminal liability.
Priorities for 2026 to 2028
Buzdyhan also set out the bureau's strategic priorities for 2026 to 2028, which include staff certification, digitalisation of internal processes, and building a new team at the bureau.
The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine is the state agency responsible for investigating and preventing economic crimes in the country.
The open interview was conducted by Olha Prosianiuk, managing partner at law firm AVER LEX and co-chair of the Business Protection and White Collar Crime Board at the Association of Ukrainian Corporate Lawyers. The forum was organised by the publication Yurydychna Praktyka together with the Association of Ukrainian Corporate Lawyers.
