MP Hetmantsev considered to replace Kravchenko as prosecutor general – UP sources

MP Danylo Hetmantsev, who is close to Davyd Arakhamiia, head of the Servant of the People presidential faction in the parliament, is being discussed as a candidate to become the next Prosecutor General.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in political circles

Details: Hetmantsev was elected as an MP for the current parliamentary term for the Servant of the People party as the 20th candidate on its electoral list, although he was not formally a member of the party. He is a member of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction and chairs the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy.

Update: Meanwhile, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that his sources on the parliamentary tax committee have not confirmed the information regarding Hetmantsev. Other Ukrainska Pravda sources also say that no final decision has yet been made on a candidate for the post of prosecutor general.

Background:

• On 5 September, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) announced that they had uncovered a criminal organisation headed by a senior official in one of the structural units of the Prosecutor General's Office. Its members are suspected of systematically accepting bribes from sham call centres and money laundering.
• On 7 September, amid the NABU and SAPO investigation, Kravchenko submitted his resignation as Prosecutor General.
• On the morning of 14 September, Kravchenko said he had signed a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and accused NABU and SAPO of unlawfully seizing materials concerning cases against their employees during searches conducted as part of an anti-corruption operation called Operation Carthage in order to prevent procedural decisions in those cases.
• Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on parliament to urgently approve Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko's resignation.
• Davyd Arakhamiia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, said that the Verkhovna Rada plans to consider Kravchenko's resignation on Tuesday 15 September.
• Ukrainska Pravda reported that, according to sources in law enforcement, Kravchenko left Ukraine in an official vehicle on the night of 13-14 September. Kravchenko confirmed that he had travelled abroad but said that he was on a business trip.

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