European taxpayers funding Ukraine’s €50 billion ($59 billion) reconstruction want guarantees their money won’t disappear into corruption.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption investigators just provided that reassurance by nailing four railway executives for rigging paint contracts worth 15 million UAH ($363,000)—just two months after surviving President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attempt to strip their independence.

The completed investigation at the state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia shows that Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which investigates high-level corruption, and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which prosecutes such cases, can continue prosecuting complex procurement fraud at major state enterprises, even after July’s political crisis that nearly subordinated them to government control.

Paint contracts, political survival

During 2022, an organized group controlled procurement at Ukrzaliznytsia’s “Production Support Center” subsidiary. When legitimate companies submitted competitive bids for paint and linoleum contracts, corrupt officials canceled entire tenders to eliminate competition and then awarded inflated contracts to predetermined suppliers. The conspirators split excess payments between September 2022 and April 2023.

Four suspects—the scheme’s organizer, two supplier company representatives, and a former Production Support Center deputy head—now face charges.

The prosecution sends a clear signal to Western partners: Ukrainian institutions can protect reconstruction investments even under political pressure.

Investigation survives crisis

The railway case was opened already before July’s political crisis. Parliament briefly subordinated NABU and SAPO to the Prosecutor General before mass protests forced a reversal. Yet NABU detectives kept working on procurement fraud while their institutional independence hung in the balance.

Protecting billions

The stakes extend far beyond paint fraud. Railway reconstruction alone accounts for €8 billion of the EU’s €50 billion pledge through 2027. Every major infrastructure contract will use procurement processes similar to those NABU just prosecuted, making this case a template for protecting future investments.

The completed case files now proceed to court, where prosecutors must prove their charges. That institutional resilience is exactly what Western reconstruction partners need to see as funding begins flowing.

This case answers a critical question for Western partners: Can Ukrainian institutions independently protect billions in reconstruction funding? The paint fraud prosecution suggests they can. The bigger test comes as those billions start flowing.