Kravchenko: presidential pressure delayed suspicion notice against NABU chief
Suspended Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko says he delayed issuing a suspicion notice to National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) chief Semen Kryvonos because of pressure from President Volodymyr Zelensky. He insists there is no legal basis for withdrawing the notice.
Suspended Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has stated that pressure from President Volodymyr Zelensky is the reason he did not issue a suspicion notice against National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) director Semen Kryvonos sooner.
In a statement, Kravchenko said he was the only prosecutor general who did not fear intense political and media pressure and who served the NABU chief with what he described as a well-grounded suspicion notice, backed by sufficient evidence. He said his only regret was not signing the notice much earlier, due to presidential pressure. Kravchenko added that, according to remarks made by the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), authorities are now "awaiting the president's reaction" to the suspicion notice — a detail he called very telling.
Allegations of document falsification
In his post, Kravchenko expressed outrage that anti-corruption bodies have reportedly reached a point where they "cancel" suspicion notices against their own officials. He stressed that the notice against the NABU chief was issued strictly in line with procedural law, and that there was and is no legal ground for revoking it.
Background
The episode began on September 7, when Kravchenko submitted his resignation as prosecutor general amid a NABU and SAPO investigation into systematic bribes allegedly received by the Prosecutor General's Office from fraudulent call centers. On the morning of September 14, Kravchenko announced he had signed a suspicion notice against Kryvonos, who is accused of forging documents to obtain an especially large illegal benefit and of a fictitious adoption. That same night, Kravchenko left the country in an official vehicle. Kryvonos called the allegations nonsense and declined to comment. Later that evening, the Prosecutor General's Office stated that the information about the suspicion notice against the NABU chief, previously circulated by the suspended prosecutor general, was untrue.
