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Ukraine's Prosecutor General denies involvement in scam call center protection racket
The Kyiv Independent • • world
Key Points:
- Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko denied involvement in a criminal scheme protecting scam call centers laundering millions of hryvnias, despite searches in his office and allegations implicating a senior official under him.
- Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the Prosecutor General's Office international cooperation department, was detained and remanded in custody, suspected of laundering over Hr 89 million ($2 million) and leading the criminal group since mid-2025.
- Investigators allege the group took bribes to allow scam call centers to operate targeting Ukrainians and foreigners, with recordings identifying Kravchenko as the "boss" who protected the operation, referencing his patronymic and prior role as head of the State Tax Service.
- Kravchenko announced mandatory polygraph tests for all staff handling illegal call center cases and emphasized transparency, while highlighting full cooperation with investigators and denying any obstruction.
- The case is part of broader anti-corruption efforts by Ukraine’s NABU amid EU demands to depoliticize the Prosecutor General's role to meet European standards for Ukraine’s potential EU membership.
