Ukrainian Law Enforcement Hit by Scandal as Raids Reported at Prosecutor’s Office

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies are conducting investigative actions at the Prosecutor General’s Office over an alleged criminal group linked to fraudulent call centres and money laundering.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau, known as NABU, and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, or SAPO, said the operation sought to expose a group that may have been led by an official from the Prosecutor General’s Office. Investigators have not identified the suspected official.

Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources, reported searches involving Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Maria Vdovychenko and Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional military administration. The publication also reported that NABU and SAPO detained Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the Prosecutor General’s Department for International Legal Cooperation.

Prosecutor General’s Office spokeswoman Mariana Haiovska denied that investigators had searched Kravchenko’s home or office. The office said it would fully cooperate with the anti-corruption bodies and suspend any employee whose possible involvement in illegal activity is being examined.