Kravchenko was preparing to counter anti-corruption agencies, NABU and SAPO were monitored – sources

STANISLAV POHORILOV, Mykhailo Tkach - 8 September, 07:24

Prosecutor General's Office. Photo: Prosecutor General's Office

Materials found during searches at the home of Mariia Vdovychenko, First Deputy Prosecutor General under Ruslan Kravchenko, have indicated that the heads of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, their families and subordinates were being monitored.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda article

Quote: "According to Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement agencies, during searches at the home of Mariia Vdovychenko, Kravchenko's first deputy, who remains in her position for now, materials were found indicating surveillance of the heads of anti-corruption agencies, their families and subordinates."

Details: According to Ukrainska Pravda sources in the prosecution service, they received an order to compile and organise all available materials concerning the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) on the morning of 7 September.

"This may indicate that, despite the recent events, the prosecutor general intended to launch a counterattack against the anti-corruption agencies," the article noted.

The article also said that the results of last year's attempt to impose Russian influence on the anti-corruption agencies may indicate that "in its actions, the Prosecutor General's Office puts the attack itself before its legality".

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.

On the evening of the same day, Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation as prosecutor general amid the NABU and SAPO investigation into the "protection" of scam call centres.

Background:

On 4 September, Ukrainska Pravda reported that NABU and 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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