Ukraine Prosecutor General Resigns Amid Scam Center Corruption Probe
Ruslan Kravchenko steps down as NABU investigates a protection racket involving thousands of fraudulent call centers.
KEY POINTS
- Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned on September 7, 2026, amid a NABU corruption probe.
- The investigation targets a protection racket run from the Prosecutor General's cybercrime unit.
- Suspect Sergey Kropiva allegedly collected bribes from ~2,000 scam call centers.
- NABU identified nearly $1 million in assets linked to the scheme; annual flow estimated at $240 million.
- Deputy head of the presidential office, Iryna Mudra, was fired and detained; current/former MPs also implicated.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced his resignation on September 7, calling the decision political and asking President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Verkhovna Rada to accept it. He denied involvement in a new National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) investigation targeting his office.
NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) launched an operation in late August against a criminal group allegedly run from inside Zelensky's office. The group is said to include current and former Verkhovna Rada deputies and presidential staff.
“My position regarding the accusations remains unchanged.”
The probe centers on Sergey Kropiva, head of the cybercrime unit at the Prosecutor General's Office, who was suspended. Surveillance recordings show him discussing an "empire" for his chief and comparing earnings to sex with a queen. He allegedly collected protection payments from scam call centers.
Investigators estimate roughly 2,000 scam centers operate in Ukraine. About half are "white" operations paying around $20,000 monthly for protection, generating an estimated $240 million annually. The Prosecutor General's Office reportedly received 15% of these payoffs.
NABU says it has identified nearly $1 million in assets purchased with scheme proceeds. Zelensky fired deputy head of the office, Iryna Mudra, in connection with the case; she was later detained and underwent investigative actions.
Kravchenko maintains his innocence, stating his position on the accusations remains unchanged. Separately, Russia's Interior Ministry placed him on a wanted list under an unspecified Criminal Code article.
A Verkhovna Rada committee on law enforcement has summoned Kravchenko for explanations on September 7 regarding the fraudulent call center case.
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