Ukraine's prosecutor general denies involvement in alleged protection of scam call centres and orders internal checks
Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has denied allegations that he was involved in protecting illegal call centres and ordered checks to be carried out at the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG), including polygraph tests for staff at units that handle such cases.
Source: Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko
Details: Kravchenko stated that he did not give instructions to facilitate the operations of illegal call centres and has not made use of his powers as prosecutor general for this purpose.
An OPG employee who has been under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) has been suspended. Kravchenko said he has also ordered preparations to be made for the employee's dismissal.
The prosecutor general has ordered checks into the work of the international cooperation department, where the suspect worked, and the cybercrime unit.
In addition, all staff working in departments involved in procedural supervision and the investigation of any cases relating to scam call centres must undergo a polygraph test.
Kravchenko has vowed to make personnel changes and other employment-related decisions based on the results of the checks, and to take criminal-procedural measures where there are grounds to do so.
He also cited some statistics on the fight against scam call centres: over the past 12 months, law enforcement agencies have conducted over 1,050 searches and shut down around 340 call centres and more than 5,000 operator workstations.
Kravchenko also stated that the anti-corruption investigators were given full access to his office during the investigative actions and their work was not hampered in any way.
Separately, he denied that a safe pictured in photos circulating in mainstream and social media is located at the OPG or has any connection to his office.
Kravchenko also said there was no truth in claims that he "disappeared", stating that he was at his workplace on 5 September and continued working on 6 September.
Background:
- On the evening of 4 September, OPG spokesperson Mariana Haiovska emphasised in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda that no investigative actions had been carried out either at the prosecutor general's home or in his office.
- The following day, the OPG confirmed that NABU detectives had conducted searches at office premises "used by Kravchenko".
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