Ukraine's Prosecutor General Kravchenko unreachable for hours after NABU and SAP search operation

Sources in political circles cited by Ukrainska Pravda claim that Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has been impossible to locate since the start of an operation code-named "Carthage" carried out by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).

According to the outlet's sources, Kravchenko drove into the government quarter and has not been seen since. Mykhailo Tkach, head of Ukrainska Pravda's investigations team, said that as of the report, sources indicated the Prosecutor General's whereabouts had been unknown for more than 12 hours.

Tkach recalled that the Prosecutor General's Office had denied the previous day's report about a search at Kravchenko's residence, and questioned how the office could claim it would cooperate with the investigation if the official in question had been unreachable for over 12 hours and could potentially be destroying evidence during that time.

Prosecutor's office response

The Prosecutor General's Office later told Ukrainska Pravda that as of September 5, the Prosecutor General was at his workplace, disputing the reports of his disappearance.

Background

According to the outlet's sources, NABU and SAP conducted searches on the evening of September 4 at the properties of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Maria Vdovychenko, and the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Oleh Kiper. The Prosecutor General's Office initially denied that a search had taken place at Kravchenko's property.

On the evening of September 4, it became known that NABU was conducting investigative actions at the Prosecutor General's Office as part of a special operation targeting a criminal organization. The Prosecutor General's Office stated it would fully cooperate with anti-corruption bodies in a case involving fraudulent call centers.