Seven prosecutors could be dismissed following anti-corruption Carthage investigation, Ukraine's general prosecutor says

Seven prosecutors from various departments of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) are set to be referred to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors, so it can decide on their possible dismissal, following the corruption scandal and investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

Source: Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko at a press conference on 7 September

Details: Kravchenko said the PGO is currently vetting both civil servants and prosecutors who either joined the office on the recommendation of Serhii Kropyva, the main suspect in the Carthage investigation, or who themselves feature in the investigation.

Quote: "For civil servants, there's a simpler dismissal procedure. As for prosecutors, they can only be removed from their post by a decision of the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors, so we're now preparing a submission to the commission. We're talking about seven prosecutors."

More details: Kravchenko added that the Prosecutor General's Office has also already issued an order for mass polygraph testing of staff.

In addition, monitoring will be carried out into the possible involvement of PGO staff in unlawful actions. Decisions on their continued work at the Prosecutor General's Office will be made on the basis of the results of these checks.

Background:

• On 5 September, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced that they had uncovered a criminal organisation which, according to investigators, was headed by a senior official in one of PGO's departments. Its members are suspected of systematically receiving bribes from fraudulent call centres and laundering assets. The person in question is Serhii Kropyva, Deputy Head of the International Legal Cooperation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.
• Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko denied any involvement in the possible "protection" of illegal call centres and ordered inspections at the Prosecutor General's Office, as well as polygraph tests for employees of departments linked to such cases.

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