Anti-corruption probe hit Ukraine prosecutor general’s office

Five suspects have been exposed and accused of racketeering and money laundering, according to media reports

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have exposed a criminal organization suspected of protecting a network of fraudulent call centers and laundering assets allegedly led by an official within the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office, NABU announced on its Telegram channel.

This case is the latest in a series of high-profile graft investigations involving Ukrainian officials and figures close to Vladimir Zelensky.

Earlier in August, the Ukrainian leader sacked the deputy head of his office, Irina Mudraya. Her home had been searched searched as part of a probe into efforts to raise and legalize $3.3 million in bail money for former Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko, a key figure in a $100 million corruption case involving state nuclear operator Energoatom and linked to Zelensky’s longtime business associate Timur Mindich.

Other recent corruption investigations have targeted former Ukrainian ministers, diplomats, and senior officials. According to investigators, the criminal group was set up and headed in mid-2025 by a high-ranking employee of the prosecutor general’s office.

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The official allegedly recruited serving prosecutors and associates into the scheme, all of whom regularly received bribes from fraudulent call centers in exchange for allowing them to operate without interference. The proceeds were allegedly laundered through the purchase of real estate, jewelry and other assets.

More than $500,000 was spent on real estate, valuables and other assets, while a further $300,000 in assets was concealed by transferring them to third parties. Another $250,000 was allegedly laundered through bank accounts, according to local media.

Five people have been detained as suspects and face racketeering and money laundering charges.
Sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda said Sergey Kropyva, head of the prosecutor general’s office cyber department, had already been detained as part of an operation code-named “Carthage.”

The investigative measures have also targeted Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Maria Vdovychenko and Oleg Kiper, head of the Odessa regional military administration.

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In August alone, anti-corruption authorities shut down hundreds of fraudulent call centers across the country, carrying out more than 400 searches and seizing more than $2 million during the raids.

The heads of NABU and SAPO recently warned that graft remains entrenched at the highest levels of the Ukrainian government. SAPO chief Aleksandr Klimenko said the state has repeatedly demonstrated that it has “no political will to fight corruption properly.”

Last year, Zelensky sought to bring the two anti-corruption watchdogs under tighter government control. He was quickly forced to reverse the move after it sparked nationwide protests and criticism from Kiev’s Western backers.

Moscow has long argued that the scandals reflect systemic corruption in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this year that corruption “permeates the entire Ukrainian power structure, including Zelensky’s inner circle and Zelensky himself.”