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The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced the discovery of the scheme on September 4 following raids that targeted an official within the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to the agencies the network collected bribes from operators of illegal call centres conducting phone scams before laundering the proceeds into luxury property jewellery and vehicles. Investigators released images of a safe containing stacks of dollar bills seized during the operation and have detained five suspects on charges of heading a criminal organisation and money laundering.
Ruslan Kravchenko rejected any personal involvement in a statement issued on September 6 describing the claims against him as completely unsubstantiated. In his resignation letter the prosecutor general said he did not want his position used as a tool for political confrontation while thanking President Volodymyr Zelensky and parliament for their trust. Kravchenko had previously suspended the implicated employee ordered polygraph tests for staff handling call centre cases and initiated audits of relevant departments according to his office.
The operation centred on Serhii Kropyva who headed the cyber department at the Prosecutor General’s Office after an appointment in 2022 that bypassed competitive selection. Court hearings set a bail amount of 120 million hryvnias roughly 2.3 million euros for Kropyva while recordings cited by Ukrainian historian Marta Havryshko captured discussions of luxury purchases including Audemars Piguet watches a Porsche and high-end clothing. The Prosecutor General’s Office pledged full cooperation with the inquiry and emphasised that no senior figure above Kropyva has been charged.
The scandal highlights the persistent challenge of illegal call centres in Ukraine. A July 2026 report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime estimated they employ about 60 000 people and generate up to 1 billion dollars monthly across the country. Kravchenko’s office reported that law enforcement carried out more than 1 050 searches over the past year shutting down around 340 such operations dismantling over 5 000 workstations and notifying 183 individuals of suspicion with 93 cases sent to court.
Kravchenko’s departure marks the fourth prosecutor general to leave office during Zelensky’s presidency and the second in less than two years to exit amid a high-profile corruption scandal. His predecessor Andriy Kostin resigned in October 2024 after a separate investigation revealed dozens of prosecutors had obtained fraudulent disability certificates to avoid military conscription and claim enhanced pensions Reuters reported. That episode prompted the disbandment of medical assessment commissions nationwide and the cancellation of more than 4 000 fake disability statuses according to Security Service of Ukraine figures.
The latest case has intensified scrutiny of anti-graft efforts within institutions central to Ukraine’s European Union accession process. Successive scandals involving officials close to the president have eroded public confidence at a time when the country continues its defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion that began in 2022. Kravchenko who assumed the role in June 2025 had positioned his tenure around intensified action against cybercrime yet the inquiry has now cast a shadow over the office itself LIGA.net noted.
