Kravchenko submits resignation as prosecutor general

Ruslan Kravchenko has submitted his resignation as prosecutor general amid a National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) investigation into "protection" of scam call centres.

Source: Kravchenko on Telegram

Quote: "This is a political decision. And I have made it consciously. I do not want the position of prosecutor general to be used as a tool in political confrontation. My position on the allegations remains unchanged."

Details: Kravchenko thanked his colleagues who "honestly do their jobs", as well as the president and the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament).

Previously: According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Kravchenko and Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, on 7 September.

The decision on whether Kravchenko can continue as prosecutor general was expected to be made following the meeting.

Speaking to journalists on 7 September, Kravchenko said that he had no plans to resign amid the scandal which has arisen following the publication of materials from Operation Carthage, an investigation being conducted by NABU.

Background:

• On 4 September, Ukrainska Pravda reported that NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were conducting searches at the premises of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Mariia Vdovychenko and Oleh Kiper, Head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration.
• On 5 September, the Prosecutor General's Office confirmed that NABU detectives had conducted searches in official premises "used by Kravchenko".
• According to Ukrainska Pravda sources in business circles, NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) had detained Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the International Legal Cooperation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.
• On 5 September, NABU and SAPO announced that they had uncovered a criminal organisation which investigators said is headed by the head of a department at the Prosecutor General's Office. Members of the organisation are suspected of regularly taking bribes from scam call centres and money laundering. Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that the department head in question is Serhii Kropyva.
• On 6 September, Kropyva was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 120 million (US$2.7 million).
• On 7 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a pre-trial restriction on 24-year-old Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko, a suspect in NABU's Operation Carthage investigation into the alleged protection of scam call centres, ordering 60 days' detention with bail set at UAH 20 million (US$450,000).
• Serhii Kropyva's driver, Serhii Kutsyi, has also been remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 3 million (US$67,500).

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