Ukraine's prosecutor general resigns amid allegations of sheltering fraud call centers
Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced his resignation after anti-corruption investigators uncovered alleged links between his office and fraudulent call centers. The case centers on his deputy, suspected of collecting payments from the schemes.
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) searched the Prosecutor General's Office (OGP) on September 4 as part of an operation codenamed "Carthage," investigating alleged ties between prosecutors and fraudulent call centers. Despite a court order, investigators were initially denied entry and had to use ladders to access the building; one officer was injured during the operation.
The main suspect, Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OGP's international legal cooperation department, was arrested in Lviv. During a court hearing on his detention, recordings were played in which Kropyva referred to a "boss" and "Andriyovych" — an apparent reference to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, whose patronymic is Andriyovych. The recordings suggested Kropyva simultaneously collected payments from fraud call centers and arranged renovation work at Kravchenko's house.
During the raid, Kravchenko's own office was found locked, and he could not be located at work or at home. The OGP initially denied the search took place, confirming it only the next day. Kravchenko twice denied any involvement, but his denials became less convincing after the recordings were made public.
Sources in law enforcement say investigators are also examining the origins of Kravchenko's assets, as well as materials found during a search of his first deputy, Maria Vdovychenko, which allegedly show surveillance of anti-corruption officials and their families. According to sources, each call center may have paid the Prosecutor General's Office around $7,000 a month, and at the peak in 2026, up to 500 such centers may have operated under this protection — potentially generating up to $3.5 million monthly.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Kravchenko and parliamentary faction leader Davyd Arakhamia on Monday evening to decide the prosecutor general's fate. Half an hour before this report was published, Kravchenko announced his resignation.
