Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned on September 7, citing a conscious political decision to avoid confrontation after anti-corruption officers raided his offices. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office uncovered an alleged criminal organization protecting fraudulent call centers.
The Resignation and Political Fallout in Kyiv
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelensky and parliament, stating that he refused to let his office become a tool for political strife. The announcement marked an abrupt reversal from earlier in the day when he stated he had no plans to resign.
The departure comes amid intense political turmoil in Kyiv. As Reuters reported, the resignation follows a series of high-level government changes, including the July appointment of Sergii Koretskyi as prime minister and the replacement of the defense minister. Investigators from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office swept through official premises over the weekend, putting mounting pressure on the senior leadership of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
“This is a political decision. And I made it consciously. I do not want the position of prosecutor general to be used as an instrument of political confrontation.”
In his public statements, Kravchenko thanked President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, asking them to accept his resignation. He also thanked prosecutors working across the country, stating, I thank my colleagues who honestly perform their work. Those who represent the prosecution in court, work with victims, document Russian crimes, and defend the interests of the state.
Operation Carthage and the Call Center Protection Racket
Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies, the NABU and SAPO, announced that they had uncovered a criminal organisation dealing with fraudulent call centres which was allegedly arranged by an official within the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to investigators, a corrupt network received money to protect call centres that carried out phone scams and laundered fortunes amounting to millions. Nabu published images of a safe filled with bundles of dollar bills, saying it uncovered five members behind the scheme, without naming them. According to the Swiss-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime (GI-TOC), illegal call centres employ about 60,000 people in Ukraine. Kravchenko has rejected any allegations against him, denying wrongdoing. My position regarding the accusations remains unchanged,
he said, maintaining that he was not involved in the alleged scheme. According to Ukrajinska Pravda, security staff initially delayed National Anti-Corruption Bureau detectives from entering the building because the officers would not immediately show search warrants specifying which offices they targeted. Kravchenko later described the events at a press conference, stating: “The officers had search warrants for my office and my deputy’s office, but at first they refused to show them because they didn’t want us to know where they had come to search. At around midnight, I spoke with the heads of both NABU and SAPO. I called and asked what was going on. They said they had authorisation to search my office and were going to carry out the search. I said: ‘Okay, everything will be opened for you – the office, the room, the safes.’ I gave the order, the investigators…” During the searches, investigators seized Canali gift vouchers and personal files. Audio recordings released by anti-corruption authorities referred to an anonymous boss with the patronymic Andriiovych who previously led the State Tax Service—a description matching Kravchenko. Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2025 faced protests that forced him to reverse efforts to make Nabu and Sapo subordinate to the national prosecutor’s office.
Court Rulings and Remands for Senior Officials
The legal fallout has already resulted in several high-profile detentions and multimillion-hryvnia bail amounts set by Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court. Authorities detained Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the office’s international cooperation department, suspected of laundering assets.
| Suspect | Role | Bail Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Serhii Kropyva | Deputy Department Head, OPG | Hr 120 million ($2.7 million) |
| Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko | Suspect, Operation Carthage | Hr 20 million ($450,000) |
| Serhii Kutsyi | Driver for Serhii Kropyva | Hr 3 million ($67,500) |
Kropyva was remanded in custody until November 2.
Unresolved Leadership Questions in Parliament
Despite submitting his resignation letter, Kravchenko remains formally in office until the Verkhovna Rada approves his departure and President Zelensky signs the corresponding decree.
